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56th Congres 

s, 1 tf ' .*Se?Ivtp: 

jiL - -A ii - 

J Docump^nt 

2d Session. 

1 No. 229. 



LECILSLATTVE HI8T0RY 


GENEEAE STAFF 


ARMY OF THIi UNITED 



(ITS URGANIZATTUN, DUTIES, PAY, AND ALLOWANCES), 


FROM 

1775 to 1901. 


COMPILED AND ANNOTATED UNDER THE DIRECTION OP 

Major-General HENEY 0. COEBIE, 

ADJUTANT-GENERAL OF THE ARMY, 

EAPHAEL“E THIAE, * 

CHIEF CLERK ADJUTANT^GENERAL’S OFFICE. 






WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1901. 











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'^44400 

JUw J - 1917 

'iootl Stiilf lic'iss tlio iiiei’it of’ iriort^ iiui'Hble iliHii ifie 

p:on.iii.-4 of any one imiii.'”—.Toiriiiii. 


PREFACE. 


Traces of a general stalf are found first in the Brandenburg (after¬ 
wards the Prussian) army in 1655, under the Great Elector, but its 
functions are supposed to have first been emplo 3 "ed in Swedish organ¬ 
izations. 




The Russian general staff dates from the time of Peter the Great. 

The operations of the general staff' of the German arm}^ are entirely 
independent of the minister of war, being directed by the chief, wEo 
is responsible only to the Commander in Chief—the Emperor. This 
status has existed for over seventy years. 

In Russia there is no separate direction of the general staff, the chief 
reporting direct!v to the war minister. 

In Italy the officers of the great general staff are entirel}" under the 
chief of the general staff', who reports direct!}^ to the war minister. 

The chief of the general staff in France is directly under and entirely 
subordinate to the secretary of war. 

In Austria the chief of the general staff is considered as the assistant 
of the imperial war minister. 

In England the adjutant-general’s office is once removed from the 
secretary of state for war through the commander in chief of the 
army. 

The Continental Congress, June 15, 1775, unanimously elected 
George Washington, esq., “to command all tlie continental forces, 
raised or to be raised, for the defense of American liberG^” and 
resolved, July 21, “that such a bod^^ of troops be kept up in the 
Massachusetts Ba\" as General Washington shall think necessary", pro¬ 
vided they do not exceed 22,000 men.” 

On assuming this command General Washington found an hetero¬ 
genous and undisciplined force which, on the call of the Massachusetts 
committee of safety on the morning after the affair at Lexington and 
Concord, had assembled at Cambridge in a motley host of full 20,000 
men, and immediately took measures to bring order out of confusion. 
Joseph Reed, of Philadelphia, was chosen by him for the important 
post of Secretary to the Commander in Chief. Horatio Gates was 
appointed Adjutant-General, Thomas Mifflin, Quartermaster-General, 
and Joseph Trumbull, Commissar}^-General. Owing to the multi¬ 
plicity of affairs pressing on the attention of Congress, that body, 
December 27, 1776, vested General Washington with full and com¬ 
plete power to displace and appoint all officers under the rank of 
brigadier-general and to fill up vacancies in every department in the 
American Army. 


3 




4 


PREFACE. 


In a letter dated flune 18,177(), addressed to the President of Congress, 
General Washington Avrote: 

I once mentioned to Congress that I thought a war office extremely necessary, and 
tliey seemed inclined to institute one for onr Army; but tlie affair seems to have 
been since dropped. Give me leave again to insist on the utility and iin[)ortance of 
such an establishment. The more 1 reflect upon the subject, the more am I convinced 
of its necessity and that affairs can never he properly conducted without it. 

Congress having, June 13, 1778, created a Board of War, General 
AYashington, seven days later, wrote to the President of Congress as 
follows: 

The instituting a War Office is certainly an event of great importance, and, in all 
probalhlity, will he recorded as such in the historic page. The benefits derived from 
it, I flatter myself, will he considerable, though the plan upon Avhich it is first 
formed may not be entirely i)erfect. This, like other great works, in its first edition 
may not be free from error; time Avill discover its defects, and experience suggest the 
remedy and such further improvements as may be necessary; but it was right to give 
it a beginning, in my opinion. 

Pho Board of Whir, thus created, tvas the germ of the AA^ar Depart¬ 
ment of our GoAmrmnent. The evolution of the general staff of the 
American Army covers a period of many years, cluring Avhich tenta- 
titp. measures were adopted, from time to time, to meet emergencies. 

On the eve of his recall to the supreme command of the Army, Gen¬ 
eral AVashington forcibly presented his views on the subject of a gen¬ 
eral staff in ttvo letters addressed by him to Hon. James McHenry, the 
then Secretary of Y"ar. July 4, 1798, he Avrote: 

In forming an army, if a judicious choice is not made of the principal officers and, 
above all, of the general staff, it never can be rectified thereafter. The character 
then of the Army would be lost in the superstructure. The reputation of the com¬ 
mander in chief Avould sink Avith it and the country be involved in inextrica])le 
expense. To remark to a military man how important the general staff of an army 
is to its well being seems to be unnecessary. 

And again, on the foIloAving day: 

“The appointment of general officers is imporUint, but of those of the general staff 
all important. 

The Inspector-General, Quartermaster-General, Adjutant-General, and officer com¬ 
manding the corps of artillerists and engineers, ought to be men of the most respect¬ 
able character and of first rate abilities, because from the nature of their respective 
offices and from their l)eing always about the Commander in Chief, Avho is obliged to 
intrust many things to them confidentially, scarcely any movement can take ])lace 
without their knoAvledge. It follows, then, that besides”possessing the qualifications 
just mentioned they ought to have those of integrity and ])rudence in iin eminent 
degree that entire confidence might be reposed in them. Without these, and their 
being on good terms with the commanding general, his measures, if not designedly 
thwarted, may be so embarrassed as to make them move heavily on. 

If the Inspector-General is not an officer of great respectability of character, firm 
and strict in discharging the duties of tlie trust reposed in him, or if he is too pliant 
in his disi)osition, he Avillmost assuredly be imposed upon, and the efficient strength 
and condition of the Army Avill not be known to the Commander in Chief. Of course 
he may form his plans upon erroneous calculations and commit fatal mistakes. 

If the (luartermaster-General is not a man of great resource and activity, and 
Avorthy of the highest confidence, he Avonld be unfit for the military station he is to 
occupy; for, as it is not possible at all times to mask real designs and movements 
under false appearances, the better and safer Avay is to place full confidence in him 
under the seal of responsibility. Then, knowing the plan, he participates in the con¬ 
cealment, on Avliich, aiid the celerity of a moA^ement, success oftentimes entirely 
depenfls. In addition to these recpiisites in a (biartermaster-General, economy in 
providing for the Avants of an army, proper arrangements in the distribution of the 
supplies, and a careful eye to the use of them is of great imp(jrtance and call for a 
circumspect choice. 

The Adjutant-General ought also to be a man of established character, of great 
activity and experience in the details of an army, and of proved integrity, or no 
alertness can be expected in the execution of the several duties consigned to him on 


PREFACE. 


5 


the one hand, and everything to he feared from treachery or neglect in Ids office 
on the other, hy which the enemy might be as well informed of our strength as of 
their own. 

It was not, however, until 1812-1821 that the general stall' was organ¬ 
ized on correct lines and its several departments created, snhstantially, 
as they have remained since. 

Mr. Secretary ^\ illitim II. Crawford, in a report dated December 27, 
1817), expressed himself as follows: 

A complete organization of the staff will contribute as much to the economy of 
the establishment as to its etlicieney. The stationery staff of a military estal)lish- 
ment should ])e substantially the same in })eace as in war, without reference to the 
number or distribution of the troo})S of which it is composed. 

lion, flolin (b Calhoun, Secretary of War, reidying, Decemlter 11, 
1818, to a resolution of Congress asking what reduction, if an}", might 
be made in the military establishment, wrote: 

The staff, as organized by the act of last session, combines simplicity with effi¬ 
ciency.^ * * * \Vere our military estaldishment reduced one-half, it is obvious 
that, if the same ]>osts continued to ])e occupied which now are, the same number of 
officers in tlie (Quartermaster’s, Paymaster’s, Medical, and Adjutant and Inspector 
General’s Depariments would be required. 

To comjnire, then, as is sometimes done, our staff with those of European armies 
assembled in large bodies is manifestly unfair. The act of last session, it is believed, 
lias made all the reduction which ought to be attempted. It has rendered the staff 
efficient without making it expensive. Such a staff is not only indispensable to the 
efficiency of the Army, lint it is also necessary to a proper economy in its disburse¬ 
ments; and should an attempt be made at retrenchment by reducing the present 
number, it Avould, in its consequences, probably prove wasteful and extravagant. 

In fact, no part of our military organization requires more attention in peace than 
the general staff. It is in. every service invariably the last in attaining perfection; 
and if neglected in ])eace, when there is leisure, it will be impossible, in the midst 
of the hurry and bustle of war, to bring it to perfection. It is in jieace that it should 
receive a perfect organization, and that the pfficers should be trained to method and 
inmctuality, so that at the commencement of a war, instead of creating anew, nothing 
more should be necessary than to give it the necessary enlargement. 

With a defective staff we must carry on our military operations under great dis¬ 
advantages, and be exposed, particularly at the commencement of a war, to great 
losses, embarrassments, and disasters. 

The history of the general stall' is inarked by good judgment, great 
executive ability, and readiness of execution in emergencies. The 
value of the stall' has been fully demonstrated ])y the administration 
of its affairs in the wars of the past, ])ut in none more so than during 
the late civil war, when the system was submitted to most severe tests, 
from Avhich it emerged triumphantly. The crowning evidence of its 
thorough effectiveness was the preparation of the plan by the Adjutant- 
General’s Department for the muster out and disbandment at the close 
of that war of the volunteer armies, numbering over 1,500,000 officers 
and men, distributed to 1,271: regiments, 816 independent companies, 
and 192 batteries. 

'The plan was submitted to the Secretary of War and the General of 
the Army and was adopted within one hour of its presentation. The 
movement homeward commenced May 29,1865, and, had it been prac- 
tica])le to spare all the forces, the entire number could easily have been 
mustered out and returned to their homes within three months. Six 
hundred and forty-one thousand were mustered out within about two 
months, 71:1,000 within two and a half months, and 800,963 were dis¬ 
charged by November 15, 1865. In his annual report for that year 
General Grant states that— 

These musters out were admirably couducted; 800,000 men (subsequently increased 
to 1,034,064) were passing from the Army to civil life so (piickly that it was scarcely 
known, save by the welcomes to their liomes. p -.) rp 



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0 O N K N 'I' S 


Page. 

I. General provisions affecting the several corps and departments of the 


general staff. 9 

II. The Adjutant-Generars Department. 49 

III. The Inspector-General’s Department. 83 

IV. The Judge-Advocate-General’s Department. 119 

V. The Quartermaster’s Department. 137 

VI. The Subsistence Department. 235 

VII. The Medical Department. 359 

VIII. The Pay Department_-. 441 

IX. The Corps of Engineers. 481 

X. The Ordnance Department. 531 

XI. The Signal Corps. 609 

MINOR BUREAUS. 

The Commissary-General of Musters. 629 

The Commissary-General of Prisoners.•. 637 

Bureau of Refugees, Ereedmen, and Abandoned Lands. 653 

The Provost-Marshal-General’s Bureau. 665 

ADDENDA. 

General provisions. 681 

The tluartermaster’s Department. 686 

The Subsistence Department. 687 

The Medical Department. 689 

Tlie Orduaijce Department.-. 690 

The Signal Corps. 690 




























I.-GENERAL PROVISIONS. 















PROVISIONS AFFECTING THE SEVERAL CORPS AND 
DEPARTMENTS OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

September Sly 1775. —‘‘Whereas frequent applications are making to the General, 
Commander in Chief, by officers of all ranks and denominations for an allowance of 
rations of |)rovisions, which are not only absolutely necessary, but usual and cus¬ 
tomarily allowed to them, the General has thought proper to order and direct that 
from the first day of July last there be issued by the Commissary-General the fol¬ 
lowing proportion of rations, viz: To each major-general, 15 rations; to each briga¬ 
dier-general, 12 rations; to each colonel, 6 rations; to each lieutenant-colonel, 5 
rations; to each major, 4 rations; to each captain, 3 rations; to each subaltern, 2 
rations, and to each staff officer, 2 rations. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

March 15, 1776. —Expenses of the horses of general officers, when traveling on 
official business, were to be defrayed by the Continent. 

Mag 10, 1776. — Resolved, That this Congress has hitherto exercised, and ought to 
retain, the power of promoting the officers in the Continental service according to 
their merit; and that no promotion or succession shall take place upon any vacancy 
without the authority of a Continental commission. 

September 9, 1776. —In all commissions the words “United Colonies” to be altered 
to “ United States.” 

Septemher 16, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Congress make provision for granting 

lands in the following proportion; To the officers . . . who shall 

so engage in the serYdce and continue therein to the close of the war, 
or until discharged by Congress, and to the representatives of such 
officers and soldiers as shall be slain by the enemy. 

Such lands to be provided by the United States, and whatever 
expense shall be necessary to procure such land the said expense shall 
be paid and borne by the States in the same proportion as the other 
expenses of the war, viz: 

To a colonel, 500 acres; to a lieutenant-colonel, 450; to a major, 400; 
to a captain, 3u0; to a lieutenant, 200; to an ensign, 150; each non¬ 
commissioned officer and soldier, 100. 

Septemher 18, 1776. 

Resolved, That if rations be received by the officers . . . in 

the Continental Army, in money, they be paid at the rate of /o of 
dollar. 

Beptemher 20, 1776. 


In order to prevent the officers and soldiers who shall be entitled to 
the lands hereafter to be granted by the re.solution of Congress of the 
16th from disposing of the same during the war, 

Resolved, That Congress will not grant lands to any person or persons 
claiming under the assignment of an officer or soldier. 



12 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


December ^7, 1776. 

The Congress having maturely considered the present crisis . 
do hereby 

Remlve^ That General Washington l)e, and he is hereby, vested 
with full and complete power ... to displace and appoint all 
officers under the rank of brigadier-general, and to till up all vacancies 
in every . . . department in the American Army. 

* -X- -x- * * * * 

That the foregoing power be vested in General AVashington for and 
during the term of six months from the date hereof, unless sooner 
determined by Congress. 

April 10, 1777. —General Washington was asked to transmit to the board of war a 
list of his appointments made under powers vested in him. 

August 14, 1777. —Congress authorized the commanding officer in the Northern 
Department, for four months from date of resolution, to suspend any officer under 
his command, for mal-conduct, and to appoint others in their room till such time as 
the pleasure of Congress can be known concerning the person or persons so suspended; 
and that he report the names of such as he may susi)end, with the cause of their 
suspension. 

August 23, 1777 .—General Washington to be informed that Congress never intended 
by any commission hitherto granted by them, or by the establishment of any depart¬ 
ment whatever, to supersede or circumscribe his powers as the Commander in Chief 
of all the Continental forces within the United States. 

September 17, 1777. —General Washington was authorized to suspend all officers 
misbehaving and to fill up all vacancies under the rank of brigadier-general until 
the pleasure of Congress can be communicated; powers to continue for 60 days and 
within a radius of 70 miles of headquarters. November 14,1777, this power was con¬ 
tinued to March 1, 1778, unless sooner revoked. 

January 6, 1778. —Every officer and man entering an hospital for treatment of 
secret disease to pay, respectively, $10 and $4; such moneys to be paid to the director- 
general or his order, to be appropriated to the purchase of blankets and shirts for the 
use of the sick soldiers in the hospital. 

February 3, 1778. 

Remlved, That^ every officer who holds or shall hereafter hold a 
coniinission or office from Congress shall take and suliscribe the fol¬ 
lowing oath or affirmation: 

“ I? —^-, do acknowledge the United States of America to 

be free, independent, and sovereign States, and declare that the peo¬ 
ple thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George the Third, King 
of Great Britain; and I renounce, refuse, and abjure any allegiance or 
obedience to him; and 1 do swear (or affirm) that I will, to the utmost f; 

of my power, support, maintain, and defend the said United States 7 

against the said King George the Third and his heirs and successors, 
and his and their abettors, assistants, and adherents, and will serve 

the said United States in the office of-, which I now hold, with 

hdelit}^, according to the best of my skill and understanding. So help 
me God.” 

-X- if. ^ 

Resolved., That all officers in the Army shall take and subscribe the 
foregoing oath or affirmation before the Commander in Chief, or any ! 
ma]or-general or brigadier-general. . • ' . 

* * * , j 

That every officer, having the disposal of public money, or who is 
or shall be intrusted with the charge or distribution of phblic stores, \ 





GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


13 


shall, at the time of taking and subscribing the foregoing oath or affir¬ 
mation, also take an oath or affirmation of office, in the following 
words, viz: 

‘‘1,-^-, do swear (or affirm) that 1 will faithfully, trul}^, 

and impartially execute the office of- , to Avhich I am appointed, 

and render a true account, when thereunto required, of all public 
monies by me received or expended, and of all stores or other effects 
to me entrusted, which belong to the United States; and will, in all 
respects, discharge the trust reposed in me with justice and integrity, 
to the best of my skill and understanding.” 

That every officer taking the foregoing oaths or affirmations, or 
either of them, shall obtain from the person administering the same 
duplicate certiHcates specifying the time of his taking it, or them, and 
also his name and rank, or employment. 

That every military officer shall deliver or transmit one of the cer¬ 
tificates so obtained to the commander in chief, or the commander of 
a department, or to such person as by genenil orders shall be appointed 
to receive the same; and the said commanding officers shall cause the 
certificates so received to be sent to the secretary of Congress, and 
shall keep an exact list of the names of all officers whose certificates 
shall be received and forwarded, together with their several ranks and 
the times of their being qualified. 

* * * -X- * * * 

That each deponent or affirmant shall retain and keep the other cer¬ 
tificate by him obtained as a voucher of his having complied with what 
is hereb}^ enjoined him: 

Reaolved^ That every officer, civil or military, now in office, shall 
take and subscribe the qualification above directed, within twenty days 
after notice hereof; and every person hereafter appointed to any office 
by or under the authority of the Congress of the United States of 
America shall take and subscribe the same previous to his acting in 
such office; and every oflicer who shall continue or presume to exer¬ 
cise any commission, civil or military, under the authorify of the 
Congress of the United States of America, without taking'the qualifi¬ 
cation in time and manner above directed shall be cashiered, and forfeit 
two months’ pay to the use of the United States of America, and be 
rendered incapable of serving in the Army of the said States, and of 
executing thereafter any office under Congress. 

Februart^ 9,1778 .—Governors of States authorized to suspend, for cause, any officer 
of the staff not immediately appointed by Congress, and to make temporary appoint¬ 
ments in the place of the officers suspended, reporting their action to Congress. 

May 15, 1778. 

Resolved, Unanimousl}^ that all militar}^ officers commissioned by 
Congress who now are, or hereafter may be, in the service of the United 
States, and shall continue therein during the war, and not hold any 
office of profit under these States, or any of them, shall, after the con¬ 
clusion of the war, be entitled to receive annually, for the term of 
seven years, if they live so long, one-half of the present pa}^ of such 
officers: . . . AndyiTovided, That this resolution shall not extend 

to any officer in the service of the United States, unless he shall have 
taken an oath of allegiance to, and shall actually reside within some 
one of the United States. 




14 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May ^7, 1778. 

Resolved^ That when any of the staff officers appointed from the 
line are promoted above the ranks in the line out of wliich they are 
respectively appointable their staff' appointments shall thereupon be 
va(^ated. 

May 1778. 

Revived., That no persons hereafter appointed upon the civil staff 
of the Arm}^ shall hold or be entitled to any rank in the Arui}^ by 
virtue of such staff' appointment. 

June 1778. 

Resolved^ That subsistence money be allowed to officers and others 
on the staff' in lieu of extra rations, and that henceforwTird none of 
them be allowed to draw more than one ration a day. 

June 4, 1778 .—Congress appointed Messrs. Carroll, Matthews and AVentworth a 
committee to extract from the journals, for publication, all the resolutions relative to 
the government of the Army. 

Jm^e 9, 1778. 

Resolved., That the value of the rations due since the 1st of January 
last till the 1st inst. be estimated at one-third of a dollar . 

June 23, 1778 .—Congress authorized General Gates to dismiss all the supernumer¬ 
ary staff officers in the district under his command. 

August 12, 1778 .—Congress allowed $500 to every officer whose duty required him 
to be mounted and whose horse was killed in battle. 

Novemher '-21^.^ 1778. 

Resolved., That all officers and persons employed on the staff shall 
receive for subsistence money one-third of a dollar for each extra 
ration heretofore allowed them. 

December 19,.1778. —Messrs. Duane, Laurens, Ellsworth, Gerry and M. Smith, con¬ 
stituted a committee to confer with the Commander in Chief and the principal offi¬ 
cers of the staff on ways and means of retrenching the expenses of the Army. 

April 14, 1779.—The. subsistence money allowed having become insufficient by 
reason of the ra])id increase of the necessaries of life. Congress recommended that 
the several legislatures supply the officers of their respective States, at the expense 
of the United States, with West India rum at f of a dollar a gallon, muscovado sugar 
at \ a dollar per pound, coffee at \ a dollar a pound, tea at 1| dollars per pound, and 
chocolate at J a dollar per pound. 

2fay 11, 1779. 

Resolved, ... That all staff officers who serve with the Armv 
shall l)e allowed clothing on the same conditions as officers in the line, 
provided they engage for a year or longer. 

June 12, 1779. 

The Board of War having reported a form of a commission for offi¬ 
cers of the staff', the same was read and agreed to, as follows: 

“Ihe United States of America in Congress assembled, to- 

-, greeting: 

e, leposing especial trust and confidence in vour patriotism, 
piLidence, and fidelity, do by these presents constitute and appoint you 



gp:nekal pkovisions. 


15 


to be-. You are therefoiv faithfully and diligentl}^ to discharge 

the dut}^ of - 1 — by doing and performing all manner of things 

thereunto belonging. And you are to observe and follow such orders 
and directions, from time to time, as 3^11 shall receive from this or a 
future Congress of the United States, or committee of Congress for 
that purpose appointed, a committee of the States, or Commander in 
Chief for the time being of the Army of the United States, or any 
other 3 ^our superior odicer, according to the rules and discipline of 
war, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you. This commission to 
continue in force until i*evoked by this or a future Congress, the com¬ 
mittee of Congress before mentioned, or a committee of the States. 

‘'Witness —^-, President of the Congress of the United 

States of America, at-, the-da}^ of-, and in the- 

3 mar of our independence. 

“Entered in the War Office, and examined by the Board. 

“Sr:CRETAllY OF THE BOARD OF WaR.” 

August 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That the half pa}^ provided by the resolution of the 15th 
of May, 1778, be extended to continue for life; and that the holding 
of a civil office under the United States, or an}^ of them, shall be no 
bar to prevent an 3 ^ officer from receiving the same. 

August IS, 1779. 

Resolved* That, until the further order of Congress, the said officers 
of the Army be entitled to receive monthly for their subsistence 
monc}" the sums following, to wit: Each colonel . . . 500 dollars; 

lieutenant-colonel dOO dollars; eveiy major . . . 800 dollars; 

every captain 200 dollars; every lieutenant, ensign . . . 100 

dollars. 

Resolved, That, until the further order of Congress, the sum of 10 
dollars be paid to eveiy noncommissioned officer and soldier monthl 3 ^ 
for their subsistence, in lieu of those articles of food originall 3 ^ 
intended for them and not furnished. 

August 18, 1779 .—The Journals state that Congress proceeded to the'eonsideration 
of a report for a further allowance to the officers of the Army (committee consisted 
of Messrs. Duane, Smith, Morris, Laurens and Drayton), and 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the said officers be entitled to 
receive monthly for their subsistence money the sums following, to wft: Each colonel 
and brigade chaplain, 500 dollars; every lieutenant-colonel, 400 dollars; every major 
and regimental surgeon, 300 dollars; every captain, 200 dollars; every lieutenant, 
ensign, and surgeon’s mate, 100 dollars. 

^''Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the sum of 10 dollars be paid 
to every noncommissioned officer and soldier monthly for their subsistence in lieu 
of those articles of food originally intended for them and not furnished.” 

October 2, 1779 .—“The following are the uniforms that have been determined for 
the troops of these States, respectively, as soon as the state of the public supplies will 
permit their being furnished accordingly, and in the meantime it is recommended to 
the officers to endeavor to accommodate their uniforms to this standard; that when 
the men come to be supplied there may be a })roper uniformity: 

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,'Connecticut: Blue, faced with 
white; buttons and lining, white. 

New York, New Jersey: Blue, faced with buff; white lining and buttons. 

Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia: Blue, faced with red; buttons and 
lining, white. 

North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia: Blue, faced with blue; buttonholes, 
edged with narrow white lace or tape; buttons and lining, white. 









16 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Artillery and artillery artificers: Blue, faced with scarlet; scarlet lining; yellow 
buttons; yellow-bound hats; coats edged with narrow lace or tape, and buttonholes 
bound with the same. , . 

Light dragoons: The whole, blue faced with white; white buttons and linings. 
(Orders, General Headquarters, Moore’s House.) 

November m, 1779. 

Resolved., That the following articles be delivered as a suit of clothes 
for the current and every succeeding year of their service to the 
officers of the ... staff entitled by any resolution of Congress 
to receive the same, viz: 

One hat, one watch coat, one body coat, four vests (one for winter 
and three for summer), four pair of breeches (two for winter and two 
for summer), four shirts, four stocks, six pairs of stockings (three 
pairs thereof worsted and three of thread), four pairs of shoes. 

For which articles of clothing the officers shall pay, on receipt 
thereof, one-half more than the prices at which the same were cur¬ 
rently sold before the commencement of hostilities, in April, 
1775 . . . 

* * * * * * * 

That all clothing issued to noncommissioned officers and soldiers, 
enlisted artificers . . . beyond that allowed to them as a bounty, 

shall also be valued and paid for at the rate before mentioned; but no 
noncommissioned officer, soldier, . . . artificer shall be entitled 

to purchase in any one year, out of the public store, any other addi¬ 
tional articles than those of hats, hose, shirts, and shoes, and not more 
of these than are absolute!}" necessary, and not exceeding the number 
of the like articles allowed as their bounty clothing. 

That ... all clothing to staff' officers [shall be issued] on the 
certificate of their principal with the Army or in the district within 
which they shall serve . 

That no staff' officer, artificer, or wagoner, not being engaged for at 
least one year, shall receive clothing; and if any such officer, artificer, 
or wagoner, being engaged for one year or more, after receipt of Such 
clothing, shall quit the service before the expiration of the term for 
which he or they are or shall be engaged, he or they shall forfeit and 
pay the full value of such clothing, and be subject to all other penal¬ 
ties and inconveniences attending his or their breach of contract or 
desertion. 

January 8, 1780. 

Resolved., That every officer of the Army of the United States 
whose duty requires his being on horseback in time of action be 
allowed a sum not exceeding the average price given at the time, in 
the department or place where the accident shall happen, for horses 
purchased for private dragoons, as a compensation for any horse he 
shall have killed in battle; this resolution to have retrospect as far as 
the 1st of .January, 1779; and the Quartermaster-General, or his dep¬ 
uty, is hereby authorized to pay the value of such horses, not exceeding 
the said price, to the respective sufferers, on the facts being properly 
authenticated. 


GENERAL TKOVISIONS. 


17 


January 20,1780 .—A board of commissioners (one of M'hom to be a member of Con¬ 
gress) was appointed to inquire into the expenses of the staff departments, to dis¬ 
charge supernumerary and delinquent oHicers and men, to stop all issues of rations 
and other supplies not indispensably necessary for the service; any two of them, in 
conjunction with General Washington, to adopt any proper measures for promoting 
economy in those de])artments. January 21 Congress elected Mr. Schuyler and 
Colonel Pickering, and January 22 General Thomas Mifflin. 


2larch 11, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That every officer who by such regulation [of 

tlie Commander in Chief] shall be entitled to a servant, and who shall 
enlist, to serve during the war, a youth not under fifteen nor exceed¬ 
ing eighteen years of age, and who from appearances is likel}^ to prove 
an able-bodied soldier, such officer shall retain the youth so enlisted 
as his servant, until, in the opinion of the Inspector-General, or one of 
the subinspectors, he shall be tit to bear arms, and the youth shall 
receive the bounty monev, clothing, pay, and rations of a soldier; and 
the officer to whom such servant shall be attached is not to be allowed 
a man out of the ranks, on aipy j)retense whatsoever, while such serv¬ 
ant remains with him . . . The like allowance of clothing, pay, 

and rations shall be given to any officer entitled as aforesaid to a serv¬ 
ant who shall bring into the held with him a servant of his own . 

Aj/vil 10, 1780. 

Resolved, That when Congress shall be furnished with proper docu¬ 
ments to licpiidate the depreciation of the continental bills of credit, 
they will, as soon thereafter as the state of the pul)lic hnances will 
admit, make good to the lines of the Army, and the independent corps 
thereof, the deheienej^ of their original pay, occasioned by such depre¬ 
ciation; and that the money and articles heretofore paid or furnished, 
or hereafter to be paid or furnished by Congress or the States, or any 
of them, as for pay, subsistence, or to compensate for deficiency, shall 
be deemed as advanced on account, until such liquidation as aforesaid 
shall be adjusted, it being the detei*mination of Congress that all the 
troops serving in the Continental Army shall be placed on an equal 
footing: Provided, That no person shall have any l)enefit of this reso¬ 
lution except such as were engaged during the war, or for three 
years, and are now in service, or shall hereafter engage during the 
war for three years and are now in service, or shall hereafter engage 
during the war. 

xipril IS, 1780. —^Messrs. Schuyler, Matthews and Peabody constituted a committee 
to confer with General Washington and the chiefs of departments, with a view to 
remedying defects and perfecting tlie arrangement of the several staff departments. 

April 14,1780 .—Congress tendered their thanks to General Mifflin and Colonel 
Pickering for their attention to the business committed to them, manifested in their 
I)laii for the arrangements of the staff departments, which has been referred to a 
committee [Messrs. Schuyler, Matthews and Peabody), who are to consult the Com¬ 
mander in Chief and the heads of the staff departments. 

June 14, 1780 .—General Gates was authorized to appoint all staff officers necessary 
for the ojganization of the Southern Army. 

S. Doc. 229-2 



18 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


June 18, 1780 .—“As it is at all times of great importance, both for the sake of 
appearance and for the regularity of service, that the different military ranks should 
be distinguished from each other and more especially at j)resent, the Gonimander 
in Chief has thought proper to establish the following distinctions and strongly 
recommends it to all the officers to endeavor to conform to tliem as speedily as 
possible: The major-generals to wear a blue coat with buff facings and linings, 
yellow buttons, white or buff under cloth, two epaulettes, with two stars upon each, 
and a black and white feather in the hat. The brigadier-generals, the same uniform 
as the major-generals with the difference of one star instead of two and a white 
feather. The colonels, lieutenant-colonels, and majors, the uniforms of their regi¬ 
ments and t\vo epaulettes. The captains, the uniforms of their regiments and an 
epaulette on the right shoulder. The subalterns, the uniform of their regiment and 
an epaulette on the left shoulder. The aides-de-camp, the uniforms of their ranks 
and corps, or if they belong to no corps, of their general officers. Those of the major- 
generals and brigadier-generals to have a green feather in the hat; those of the 
Commander in Chief, a white and green. The inspectors—as well sub as l)rigade— 
the uniforms of their ranks and corps with a blue feather in the hat. The Corps of 
Engineers and that of sappers and miners, a blue coat with buff facings, red lining, 
buff under cloth, and the epaulettes of their respective ranks. Such of the staff as 
have military rank to wear the uniforms of their ranks and of the corps to which 
they belong in the line; such as have no military rank to wear plain coats with 
cockade and sword. All officers, as well warrant as commissioned, to wear a cockade 
and side arms, either a sword or genteel bayonet. The general recommends it to the 
officers as far as practicable to provide themselves with the uniforms prescribed for 

their respective corps by the regulations of-, published in general orders, the 

2d of October last.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Short Hills.) 

July 14, 1780 .—“It was omitted in the general order of the 18th of June last to 
mention that the Adjutant-General and his assistants are to wear a red and green 
feather in their hats and the uniforms of their corps.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
Fracaness .) 

July 15, 1780. 


Besohed, . . . That any of the said officers entitled to forage, 

who shall keep their horses at their own expense, when in camp, or 
when absent from the Army on public service, shall be allowed as 
much daily for the forage so found as shall be certified by the deputy 
quartermaster of the State in which the Army may be, to be the net 
current cost of a ration of forage, eveiy officer claiming such payment 
producing a certificate from the forage master, from whom he usually 
draws, that he had not drawn forage from him during the time charged 
for, and certifying upon honor that he hath drawn no public forage 
whatever during the said time, on which a certificate shall pass from 
the commissary of forage, or deputy, to the Quartermaster-Generars 
auditor, for settlement of the same, not exceeding the current net cost 
of the ration as settled by the (luartermaster of the State: Provided, 
lhat no officer on furlough shall be entitled to draw forage or pay for 
the same for any time he is absent beyond the time allowed him by 
his furlough. 


July 19 27<9p.—“The feathers directed to be worn by major-generals are to have 
below, the black above. It will be best to have one feather, the upper 
part black. It is recommended to the officers to have black and white cockades— 
a black pound with a white relief—emblematic of the expected union of the two 
armies. ( Orders, General Headquarters, Fracaness .) 


August 1^, 1780. 


Remlmd ... That the officers (of the Army) shall hereafter 
be al owed five dollars per month in the said new'bills [emission of 
March 18, 1780] lor each retained ration. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


19 


# 

Thrt the provisions for granting lands by the resolution of Septem¬ 
ber 16, 17Y6, be, and Is hereby, extended to the general officers, in the 
following proportion: To a major-general, 1,100 acres; a brigadier- 
general. 850 acres. 

August 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That if it shall appear that the subsistence 

money allowed to officers in lieu of the rations withheld is not equal to 
the cost of the rations, the deficiency shall hereafter be made up to them. 

^Resolved,^ . . . That the resolution of the 15th day of May, 

17T8, granting half pay for seven years to the officers of the Army 
who should continue in service to the end of the war, be extended to 
the widows of those officers who have died or shall hereafter die in the 
service; to commence from the time of such officers’ death, and con¬ 
tinue for the term of seven years; or if there be no widow, or in case 
of her death or intermarriage, the said half pay be given to the orphan 
children of the officer dying as aforesaid, if he shall have left any, and 
that it be recommended to the legislatures of the respective States to 
which such officers belong, to make provision for paying the same, on 
account of the United States. 

That the restricting clause in the resolution of May 15, 1778, grant¬ 
ing half pay to the officers for seven years, expressed in these words, 
viz, “And not hold any office of profit under these States, or any of 
them,” be, and is hereby, repealed. 

August 29, 1780. —“As black and red feathers have been furnished the division of 
light infantry to distinguish it from the rest of the Army, they are not to be worn by 
any officers or soldiers but those who belong to it.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Tean Neck.) 

Novemhei^ 29^ 1780. 

Resolved, That the act of Congress of the 8th of January last, pro¬ 
viding for the payment of officers’ horses killed in action, be extended 
to such officers entitled to keep them who shall have their horses 
wounded and disabled in action, provided the horses so wounded and 
disabled be delivered to the department of the Quartermaster-General. 

January 26, 1781. 

Resolved, That the allowance of five dollars per month to the officers 
of the Army for each retained ration, granted by an act of the 12th of 
August last, shall commence on the 1st day of August, 1780. 

June 13,1781. —Congress declared that until it shall be able to liquidate the depre¬ 
ciation of the continental bill of credit, on the principles established in the resolution 
of April 10, 1780, that the money paid by the States to compensate officers of the 
Army shall be deemed as advanced on account until adjustment by Congress of such 
liquidation. 

September SO, 1781. —“All officers and others are strictly forbid, for obvious reasons, 
to wear red coats.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Secretary's Quarter.) 

October 30, 1781. —“In pursuance of the determination of a board of general officers 
setting forth the means by which the officers of the Army may receive a general benefit 
from that article of the Capitulation which entitles them to a right of preemption 
of the goods in the possession of the traders in York and Gloucester, at the time of 
the surrender of these posts, the Commander in Chief is pleased to direct that every 
officer who came here with this Army (coming under the following description) 
receive on account of his pay to the amount of twenty pounds (dollars, at six shil¬ 
lings) each, viz: * * * The officers of the hospital, * * * the Quartermaster- 
General, the Commissary-General, and their deputies; but not to include the deputies 


20 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF IT. S. AEMY. 


of deputies. * * * Heads of departments not connected with brigades are thern- 
selves to purchase for the persons entitled or give written authority to one person in 
their respective departments to do it for them. The brigades and corps, having 
balloted for priority of purchase, are to be served in the following or<ler, viz: * * * 

7, sappers and miners; 8, 9, 10, the Quarter [master]’s. Commissary’s, and Hospital 
departments. * * * The persons appointed to purchase for each brigade and 
separate department will have a certificate of their appointment from Major-General 
St. Clair. * ♦ * The regimental paymaster to take receipts from each*ofllcer, as 
so much pay, and transmit an account of the aggregate sum to the Paymaster-General, 
to be by him charged to the regiment. Where officers are unconnected with bri¬ 
gades, their amounts to be transmitted to the Paymaster-General by the general 
officers to whom they are attached and the heads of departments to which they 
belong. Until the purchases above authorized are completed and the same announced 
by a general order, no person whatever is permitted to purchase on private account. ’ ’ 

( Orders, General Headquarters, Neiv York .) 

January 19, 1782 .—“ Commanding officers of * * * corps are not in future to 
furnish servants or waggoners from their corps on any pretext whatever, without an 
express order from the Commander in Chief or officer commanding the Army. Ofiicers 
actually belonging to * * * corps and serving with them are to be allowed 
servants from their respective corps, in the following proportions, viz: * * * No 
* * * doctor to take a convalescent from the hospital for a servant on pain of 
being tried by a court-martial. The general and military staff and officers not 
belonging to corjjs are to be allowed servants in the following proportions, and when 
they are not otherwise provided may take them from the Army, viz: Major-general, 
four servants; brigadier-general, four servants; colonel, two servants (without arms); 
lieutenant-colonel, one servant (without arms); major, one servant (without arms); 
captain, one servant (without arms); aide-de-camp, one servant (without arms); 
major of brigade, one servant (without arms). {Orders, General Headquarters, Phila¬ 
delphia. ) 

Apr'd 8, 178^. 

Resolved^ That . . . the Secretary at War . . . issue his 

warrants ... to the head of each department for the pa^^ and 
rations due to each department; that the accounts for the pa}^ and 
rations of . . . each department in the Army from January 1, 
1782, shall l)e inade out at the end of every month, and be transmitted 
to the War Oflice for examination and warrants. 

That the manner of making the pa^uuents, of keeping the accounts, 

. . . be regulated by the Secretary at War. 

Ajjrd 10, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That estimates and returns from the different 

departments be lodged at the War Office, to be examined and approyed 
of by tho Secretary at War. 


April n, 178^. 


ResoUed, That from and after the first day of May next all resolycs 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or 
allowances to officers, over and above their pav and what they are enti¬ 
tled to from the Quartermaster’s Department, \ . be, and thev are 

hmeby, 1 epealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations 
affixed to their several ranks, viz: ' ^ 


A colonel. 

A lieutenant-colonel. 

Major. 

Captain. 

Subaltern. 


* 


2 rations per dav; 12 60/90 
n do. ‘ ; 11 

^ do. ; 8 

1 do. ; 6 30/90 

1 do. ; 3 15/90 


dollars per month, 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 


* 


* 






GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


21 


All officers in the line of the Army employed in any of the staff 
departments shall he entitled, while acting therein, to draw the same 
number of rations and like subsistence to which they are entitled by 
their ranks in the Army; and when any persons, not in the line of the 
Army, are employed in any of the staff departments, they shall be 
entitled to draw the same number of rations and subsistence as officers 
of the line acting in similar stations in the staff' with them are entitled 
to draw. 

No compensation shall hereafter be made to those officers who may 
neglect to draw rations to which they are entitled. 

Aug'iist 7, 1782 .—“Honorary badges of distinction are to be conferred on the veteran 
noncommissioned officers and soldiers of the Army, who have served more than 
three years with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct; for this piirjiose a narrow piece 
of white cloth of an angular form is to be fixed to the left arm on the uniform coats. 
Noncommissioned officers and soldiers, who have served with equal reputation more 
than six years, are to be distinguished by two pieces of cloth set on parallel to each 
other in a similar form.” 

“The general, ever desirous to cherish virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well 
as to foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that whenever any 
singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to 
wear on Ids facings over the left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk, 
edged with narrow lace or binding.” ((M/m, (h’ner<tl lleadrpiatiers, Newburgh.) 

August 11, 1782 .—“The badges which noncommissioned officers and soldiers are 
permitted to wear on the left arm, as a mark of long and faithful service, are to be of 
the same color, with the facings of the corps they belong to, and not white in every 
instance as directed in the orders of the 7th instant.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
Newburgh .) 

October 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That any of the officers entitled to forage, who 

shall keep their horses at their own expense, shall be paid therefor by 
the Quartermaster-General at the average price given by him for the 
forage of the Army. 

December 3, 1782. 

Resolved, That after the last day of December inst., in lieu of the 
rations hitherto allowed to officers of the Arnyy, including those for 
servants, they shall be allowed subsistence money at the rate of four 
dollars per month for each ration; provided that where circumstances 
in any case shall not permit the payment of such subsistence money, 
thew shall draw their rations as heretofore. 

December 6, 1782 .—“The honorable Secretary at War having been pleased to direct 
that the uniform of the American cavalry and infantry shall in future be blue ground 
with red facings and white linings and buttons, the General gives this early notice 
that provision may be made accordingly before the Army shall receive their clothing 
for the present year. The Corps of Artillery is to retain the present uniform, and the 
sappers and miners will have the same.” [Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

December 13, 1782. 

Resolved, That every officer whose duty requires his being on horse¬ 
back who shall have his horse killed, or wounded, or disabled by the 
enemy, or whose horse shall fall into the enemy’s hands without Ids 
own manifest fault or misconduct, shall be entitled to I’eceive from the 
Quartermaster-General or his deputy the just value of such horse, to 
be appraised on oath, oi’ on honor of the appraisers, if commissioned 
officers, provided the same does not exceed 120 dollars; provided also, 


22 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 

that if the wounded or disabled horse ))e l)rought oft, he shall ))e delh- 
ered to some ofheer in the Quartermaster’s Department, whose certih- 
cate shall be necessary to entitle the owner to compensation; provided 
also, that before any compensation shall be made for horses lost in the 
manner before mentioned, the necessaiy facts shall be proved to the 

satisfaction of the Quartermaster-General or his deputy^ . . . I his 

resolution to have retrospect to the first of January, li79; this resolu¬ 
tion not to extend to ofii(*ers who have already received compensation 
for horses lost since that da}^ 

December 15, By the order of the 6th instant respecting uniformity of 

clothing for the Army, the General did not propose that the coats should all be made 
in the same mode; on the contrary, he wishes commanding officers of tlie different 
lines and corps would agree among themselves on such distinctions as may be deemed 
proper in the fashion of the lapels, cuffs, buttons, &c.” ( Orders, General Headquar¬ 

ters, Newburgh.) 

January 3, Duplicate accounts of the subsistence of departments and gen¬ 

eral office’s family, to be signed by the heads of the departments and general officer.’' 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

Fehruary 21^ 1783. 

Whereas sundry officers in the Army of the United States have been 
taken from the line to act in the departments of the general staff, and 
are entitled to additional pay in consequence thereof: 

Resolved^ That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the several 
States, to whom such officers respectively belong, to adjust and dis¬ 
charge, on account of the United States, the deficiencies on the addi¬ 
tional pay to which they are entitled by the resolutions of Congress, in 
the same manner and to the same time they settle their accounts as 
officers of the line. 

February 24, 1783. —“The nonarrival of the clothing expected from Europe renders 
the greatest economy in that article doubly necessary. The Commander in Chief 
therefore recommends that the business of turning and repairing the coats of last year 
should now be considered as a primary object, in doing which a certain model as to 
the fashion and length (for the coats ought to be made something shorter than at 
present) will be established by the commanding officer of the corps, from which 
there must be no deviation, . . It is expected scarlet cloth for cuffs, capes, and per¬ 
haps half facings will be furnished, as the Secretary at War has been pleased to give 
assurances that he will cause a quantity of that cloth, together with a sufficiency of 
thread, to be immediately forwarded from Philadelphia, if possible. ’ ’ ( Orders, General 
Headquarters, Newburgh .) 

March 3, 1783. —“Notwithstanding the proposed alteration in the uniform of the 
infantry and cavalry, it appears necessary, from the inevitaffie circumstances, that all 
the light infantry companies should be clothed in blue coats, faced with white, until 
further orders.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

Ilarch 1783. 

Resolved^ That such officers as are now in service, and shall continue 
therein to the end of the war, shall be entitled to receive the amount 
of five years’ full pay in money, or securities on interest at six per 
cent per annum, as Congress shall find most convenient, instead of the 
half pay promised for life by the resolution of the 21st day of Octo¬ 
ber, IT'80. ... 

April 14, 176’.?.—“ The regiments which have not turned and repaired their coats are 
to draw lots for the scarlet cloth which arrived yesterday. Such corps as can not now 
be supplied must retain their old uniform. Everything that can be done i)revious to 
the first of May to make the troops appear respectable ought to be attempted. An 
extra allowance of one ration per coat will be made for every regimental coat that 
has or shall be turned.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


23 


Sejpteniber 17^ 1783. 

Whereas the legislatures, as well as the citizens of several States, are 
opposed to the allowance of half pay to officers of the Army, and also 
to the commutation made by an act of Congress of 22d March last; 
and it is the request of the delegates of such States that the legislatures 
thereof may have an opportunity of effecting a compromise with the 
officers of their respective lines, and of enabling them to retain the 
affection and esteem of their fellow-citizens: 

Resolved., That the Secretary at War be directed to transmit to the 
legislatures of the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Provi¬ 
dence Plantations, and of such other States as may apply for the same, 
a list of the officers belonging to such States, respectively, to whom 
half pay or the commutation had been promised by Congress, . . ; 

in order that the said legislatures, if they shall deem it expedient, may 
reward the services of the said officers in a way that shall be mutually 
agreeable to them: . . . Provided^ That such officers as nia}" not 

accept the proposals of their respective States for rewarding their 
services aforesaid shall be, nevertheless, entitled to the commutation 
and every other emolument granted them by act of Congress. 

Septemher ^6^ 1783. 

Resolved., That the Commander in Chief be authorized and directed 
to grant furloughs to such of the general, medical, and staff' officers 
and the officers of the engineers whose services are not, in his opinion, 
necessary for the troops remaining in actual service. 

Septemhe-r 30, 1783. 

Resolved, That the Secretary of War issue to all officers in the Army 
under the rank of major-genel’al who hold the same rank now that they 
held in the year 1777 a brevet commission one grade higher than their 
present rank, having respect to their seniority. . . . 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of June 1, 1789 {1 Stats., 23). 

AN ACT to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths. 

That the oath or affirmation required by the sixth article of the 
Constitution of the United States shall be administered in the form 
following, to wit: “ I, A B, do solemly swear (or affirm, as the case may 
be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States.” 

* * * 

Sec. 4 . That all officers appointed, or hereafter to bo appointed 
under the authority of the United States, shall, before they act in 
their respective offices, take the same oath or affirmation, which shall 
be administered by the person or persons who shall be authorized by 
law to administer to such officers their respective oaths of office; and 
such officers shall incur the same penalties in case of failure as shall 
be imposed by law in case of failure in taking their respective oaths 
of office. 


24 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


Act of June 7, 17 H U Stats., 390). 

AN ACT in addition to the “Act for making further and more effectual provision 
for the protection of the frontiers of the United States,” 

Sec. 1. That if any commissioned officer . . . shall, while in 

the service of the United States, die by reason of wounds received in 
actual service of the United States, and shall leave a widow, or if no 
widow, shall leave a child or children under age, such widow, or if no 
widow, such child or children, shall be entitled to and receive the half 
of the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of 
his death, for and during the term of five years; and in case of the 
death or intermarriage of such widow, before the expiration of the 
said term of five j^ears, the half pay for the remainder of the term, 
shall go to the child or children of such deceased officer, while under 
the age of sixteen years, and, in like manner, the allowance to the 
child or children of such deceased, where there is no widow, shall be 
paid no longer than while there is a child or children under the age 
aforesaid: Provided, That no greater sum shall be allowed in any case, 
to the widow or to the child or children of any officer, than the half 
pay of a lieutenant-colonel. 

* * * 


Act of ALa/rch 3, 1795 {1 Stats., iSO). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military establishment of the United 
States, and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed on that subject. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That if any officer . . . shall be wounded or disabled 

while in the line of his duty in public service he shall be placed on 
the list of the invalids of the United States, at such rate of pay and 
under such regulations as shall be directed by the President of the 
United States for the time being: Provided cdivays. That the rate of 
compensation to be allowed for such wounds or disabilities to a com¬ 
missioned officer shall never exceed for the highest disability half the 
monthly pay of such officer at the time of his being so disabled or 
. . . And provided also. That all inferior disabilities 

shall entitle the person so disabled to receive an allowance propor¬ 
tionate to the highest disability. 


Act of 2[ay m, 1796 {1 Stats., 4.63). 

AN ACT allowing compensation for horses killed in battle telonging to officers of 
the Army of the United States. 


Seo. 1. That every officer in the Army of the United States whose 
duty requires him to lie on horseback in time of action, and whose 
battle, be allowed a sum not exceeding two hun- 
dreci dollars as a compensation for each horse killed. 

Sec. 2. That the provision contained in this act shall have retrospec- 
tn-e operation as far as the fourth day of March in the year one thou- 
sand seven hundred and eighty-nine. 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


25 


Act of March 5, 1799 {1 Stats. ^ 7f9). 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to fill certain vacancies in 
the Army and Navy. 

That the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to make appointments to fill any vacancies in the 
Army . . . which may have happened during the present session 

of the Senate. 

Act of March 16^ 180^ (2 Stats. ^ 132). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the monthl}’^ pay of the officers ... be as follows, 
to wit: ... to each colonel, seventy-five dollars; to each lieu- 
tenant-colonel, sixty dollars; to each major, fifty dollars; 
to each captain, forty dollars; to each first lieutenant, thirty dollars; 
to each second lieutenant, twenty-five dollars; . . . 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled to 
receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations of 
provisions: A colonel, six rations; a lieutenant-colonel, live rations; 
a major, four rations; a captain, three rations; a lieutenant, two 
rations ... or money in lieu thereof at the option of the said offi¬ 
cers ... at the posts, respectively, when the rations shall become 
due; and if at such post supplies are not furnished by contract, then 
such allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having reference to for¬ 
mer contracts, and the position of the place in question: . . . ; 

and to every commissioned officer who shall keep one servant, not a 
soldier of the line, one additional ration. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the following officers shall, whenever forage is not 
furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the following sums per 
month in lieu thereof: Each colonel, twelve dollars; each lieutenant- 
colonel, eleven dollars; each major, ten dollars; . . . each surgeon, 

ten dollars, and each surgeon’s mate, six dollars. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That if any officer . . . in the corps composing the 

peace establishment shall be disabled by wounds or otherwise while in 
the line of his duty in public service, lie shall be placed on the list of 
invalids of the United States, at such rate of pay and under such regu¬ 
lations as may be directed by the President of the United States for 
the time being: Provided always, That the compensation to be allowed 
for such wounds or disabilities to a commissioned officer shall not 
exceed for the highest disability half the monthly pay of such officer 
at the time of his being disabled or wounded, and that no officer shall 
receive more than the half pay of a lieutenant-colonel: . . . And 

provided also, That all inferior disabilities shall entitle the person so 
disabled to receive an allowance proportionate to the highest disability. 

Sec. 15. That if any commissioned officer in the military peace 
establishment of the United States shall, while in the service of the 
United States, die by reason of any wound received in actual service 
of the United States, and leave a widow, or if no widow a chil d or 
children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow such 


26 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


child or children, shall be entitled to and receive half the monthly pay 
to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death, for and dur¬ 
ing the term of live years. But in case of the death or intermarriage 
of such widow before the expiration of the said term of five years, the 
half pav for the remainder of the time shall go to the child or children 
of such deceased officer: Provided ahuays^ That such half pay shall 
cease on the decease of such child or children. 

* * * 

Act of April m, 1808 Stats., liSl). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an addititional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That the subsistence of the officers of the Army, when not 
received in kind, shall be estimated at twenty cents per ration. 

* * * 

Act of January 11, 1812 {2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the subsistence of the officers of the Army, when not 
received in kind, shall be estimated at twenty cents per ration. 

* * * 

Act of July 6, 1812 {2 Stats., 78Jf). 

AN ACT making further provision for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * ifr 

Sec. 4. That the President is hereby authorized to confer brevet 
rank on such officers of the Army as shall distinguish themselves by 
gallant actions or meritorious conduct, or who shall have served ten 
years in any one grade: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall 
be so construed as to entitle officers so brevetted to any additional pay 
or emoluments. ... 

Sec. 5. That the officers who shall not take waiters from the line of 
the Army shall receive the pay, clothing, and subsistence allowed to 
a private soldier for as many waiters as they may actually keep, not 
exceeding the number allowed by existing regulations. 

January 11, 1812 {2-671 ).—Reenacts sections 14 and 15 of act of March 16, 1802. 

Act of Alarch 3, 1813 {2 Stats., 819). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. . . . And officers taken from the line and transferred to 

the stafi shall receive only the pay and emoluments attached to the 
rank in the staff; but their transfer shall be without prejudice to their 
rank and promotion in the line according to their said rank and 
seniority, which promotion shall take place according to usage, in the 
same manner as if they had not been thus transferred. 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


27 


Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the War 
Department, and he is hereby authorized, to prepare general regula¬ 
tions better detining and prescribing the respective duties and powers 
of the several officers in . . . the general . . . staff, which 

regulations, when approved by the President of the United States, 
shall be respected and obeyed until altered or revoked by the same 
authority; and the said general regulations, thus prepared and 
approved, shall be laid before Congress at their next session. 

* * * 


Acl of July <2%, mis {S Stats., 34). 

AN ACT to regulate the allowance of forage to officers in the Army of the United 

States. 

That all officers in the military service of the United States who 
are by law entitled to forage shall receive in lieu thereof when not 
drawn in kind an equivalent in money, at the rate of eight dollars per 
month for each horse to which they may be entitled: Provided, 
That no allowance shall be made to any officer for more horses than 
he shall actualU employ in the public service. 


• Act of Afarch SO, 1814 Stats., 113). 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 


* * * 

Sec. 9. That from and after the first day of June next the officers of 
the Army shall be entitled to waiters agreeable to grade, as follows: 

. Every commissioned officer who holds a staff' appointment 
which gives the rank of captain, or any higher grade, one. . . . 

Sec. 10. That no officer shall be permitted to employ as a servant 
any soldier from the line of the Army, and that the servants of officers, 
not exceeding the number allowed by the preceding section, shall be 
mustered with the same corps of the Army, and that on the muster 
rolls formed in consequence thereof payments shall be made in money 
to the officers emplo 3 fing tliem in lieu of wages, subsistence, and cloth¬ 
ing, by the paymiasters of the several corps or districts where such 
servants are mustered, at the rate allowed to privates of infantry, 
which shall be published to the Army annually b}^ the Secretary for 
the Department of War. 

* * * 

Act of Afarch S, 1816 (3 Stats., 22f). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 6 . That to each commissioned officer who shall be deranged by 
virtue of this act there shall be allowed and paid, in addition to the 
pay and emoluments to which they will be entitled by law at the time 
of his discharge, three months’ pay. 


28 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 


Act of Af Til U, IS 16 (3 Stats, 397). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the 
Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the several officers of the staff shall respectively receive 
the pay and emoluments and retain all the privileges secured to the 
staff of the Army by the act of March third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen,"and not incompatible with the provisions of this 
act; and that the regulations in force before the reduction of the Army 
be recognized, as far as the same shall be found applicable to the serv¬ 
ice, subject, however, to such alterations as the Secretary of War may 
adopt, with the approbation of the President. 

Sec. 10. That . . . hereafter the staff of the Army ma}^ be 

taken from the line of the Army, or from citizens. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That when forage is not drawn in kind by officers of the 
Army entitled thereto, eight dollars per month for each horse, not 
exceeding the number authorized by existing regulations, shall be 
allowed in lieu thereof: Provided, That neither forage nor money 
shall be drawn by officers but for horses actuall}" kept by them in 
service: Provided also, That none except company officers shall be 
allowed to take as servants or waiters soldiers of the Army, and that 
all officers be allowed, for each private servant actually kept in serv¬ 
ice, not exceeding the number authorized by existing regulations, the 
pay, rations, and clothing of a private soldier, or money in lieu thereof, 
on a certificate setting forth the name and description of the servant 
or servants in the pay account. 

Act of Afar ch 3, 1817 {3 Stats., 39f). 

AN ACT to amend an Act entitled “An Act making further provision f(jr military 
services during the late war, and for other purj)oses.” 

-X- -x- -X- 

Sec. 2. That the provisions contained in an Act, entitled "‘An Act 
fixing the military peace establishment of tbe United States,’’ passed 
on the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, grant¬ 
ing to the commissioned officers of the Regular Army, who were 
deranged by said Act, three months’ pay in addition to the pay and 
emoluments to which they were entitled" by law at the time of their 
discharge, shall equally extend to . . . warrant officers of the 

staff of the Regular Army, who were deranged by the before recited 
Act, except those provisional!}^ retained by the President of the United 
States. 

* -X- * 

Act of If arch 18, 1818 {3 Stats., 4,10). 

AN ACT to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the 
United States, in the Revolutionary War. 

That every commissioned officer, noncommissioned officer . 
who served in the War of the Revolution until the end thereof, or for 
the term of nine months, or longer, at any period of the war, on the 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


29 


Continental establishment . . . who is yet a resident of the United 

States, and who is, or hereafter, by reason of his reduced circumstances 
in life, shall be, in need of assistance from his countr}^ for support, 
and shall have substantiated his claim to a pension in the manner herein 
directed, shall receive a pension from the United States; if an officer, 
of twenty dollars per month during life; if a noncommissioned officer 
. of eight dollars per month during life; Provided^ No person 
shall be entitled to the provisions of this Act, until he shall have relin¬ 
quished his claim to every pension heretofore allowed him by the laws 
of the United States. 

* * * 

Act of Aj)rd 1818 {8 Stats., Jf26). 

AN ACT regulating tlie Htaff of the Army. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 4. That to each commissioned officer who shall be deranged by 
virtue of this Act, there shall be allowed and paid, in addition to the 
pay and emoluments to which they will be entitled by law, at the time 
of their discharge, three months’ pay and emoluments. . . . 

* -X- * 


Act of Ajrril 16, 1818 {8 Stats., f27). 

AN ACT rogiilating the pay and eniohiinents of brevet officers. 


Sp:c. 2. That no brevet commission shall hereafter be conferred but 
bv and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

Act of May 1, 18W {8 Stats., 567). 

AN ACT in addition to the several acts for the establishment and regulation of the 
Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That no contract^ shall hereafter be made by the Secretary 
. . . of the Department of War, . . . except under a law 

authorizing the same, or under an appropriation adequate to its ful- 
tilnient. 

* * * 

Act of July 5, 1888 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 15. That every commissioned officer of the . . . staff, 

exclusive of general officers, shall be entitled to receive one addi¬ 
tional ration per diem for every five years he may have served or shall 
serve in the Army of the United States. 

* * * 


1 Excepting contracts for the subsistence and clothing of the Army. 





30 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

Act of July 7, 18S8 {5 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled “An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purj^oses,” ajjproved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

First. Nothing contained in the said act shall be so construed as to 
allow to any officer additional rations for time past, commonly called 
back rations. 

* * * , 

Act of March 1839 {5 Stats. ^ 339). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the Gov¬ 
ernment for the year eighteen hundred and thirty-nine. 

* * vt 

Sec. 3. That no officer in an}- branch of the public service, or any 
other persons whose salaries, or whose pay or emoluments is or are 
fixed by law and regulations, shall receive any extra allowance or 
compensation in any form whatever for the disbursement of public 
money, or the performance of any other service, unless the said extra 
allowance or compensation be authorized by law; nor shall any execu¬ 
tive ofiicer, other than the heads of departments, apply more than 
thirty dollars, annually, out of the contingent fund under his control, 
to pay for newspapers, pamphlets, periodicals, or other books or prints 
not necessary for the business of his ofiice. 

Act of August 18JiJ2 {5 Stats.., 508). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army, and of the Military 
Academy, for the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That no officer in any branch of the public service, or any 
other person whose salary, pay, or emoluments is or are fixed by law 
or regulations, shall receive any additional pay, extra allowance, or 
compensation, in any form whatever, for the disbursement of public 
money, or for any other service or duty whatsoever, unless the same 
shall be authorized by law, and the appropriation therefor explicitly 
set forth that it is for such additional pay, extra allowance, or com¬ 
pensation. 

* * * 

Act of June 18, 18fS (P Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled “An act providing for the prosecution of 
the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico,” and for 
other purposes. 


* * 

Sec. 7. . . . that appointments ... in the general staff, 

which confer equal rank in the Army, shall not be held by the same 
officer at the same time; and when an}^ officer of the staff' who may 
have been taken from the line shall, in virtue of seniority, have 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


31 


obtained or be entitled to promotion to a ^rade in his regiment equal 
to the commission he may hold in the stall*, the said officer shall vacate 
such stall* commission, or he may, at his option, vacate his commission 
in the line. 

* * * 

Act of March S, 18Jf7 (9 Stats., 188). 

AN ACT to establish certain post routes, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. T. That all letters, newspapers, and other packets, not exceed¬ 
ing in weight one ounce, directed to any officer ... of the 
Army of the United States in Mexico, or at any post or place on the 
frontier of the United States bordering on Mexico, shall be conveyed 
in the mail free of postage. 

Sec. 5. That the two preceding sections shall continue in force dur¬ 
ing the present war, and for three months after the same may be 
terminated, and no longer. 

* * * 


Act of March 3, 1851 {9 Stats., 618). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two. 

. . . Proridef That all promotions in the staff department or 

corps shall be made as in other corps of the Army. 

* * * 


Act of August 31, 186^ (10 Stats., 76). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the Govern¬ 
ment for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, 
and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 8 . That it shall not be lawful for the officer ... in charge 
of any bureau ... in any of the departments of the Govern¬ 
ment to print, or cause to be printed, at the public expense, any report 
he may make to the President of the United States, or to the head of 
any of the departments. 

* * * 


Act of February 1857 (11 Stats., 163). 

AN ACT to increase the pay of the officers of the Army. 

That from and after the commencement of the present fiscal year 
the pay of each commissioned officer of the Army, including military 
storekeepers, shall be increased twenty dollars per month, and that 
the commutation price of oflicers’ subsistence shall be thirty cents per 
ration. 


32 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of August 3^ 1861 {12 Stats. ^ 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 

* * * 

Sec. 15. That any commissioned officer of the Army . . . who 

shall have served as such for forty consecutive years, may, upon his 
own application to the President of the United States, be placed on 
the list of retired officers, with the pa}^ and emolument allowed by 
this act. 

Sec. 16. That if any commissioned officer of the Army . . . 

shall have become incapable of performing the duties of his office, he 
shall be placed upon the retired list and withdrawn from active service 
and command and from the line of promotion, with the following pay 
and emoluments, namely, the pay proper of the highest rank held by 
him at the time of his retirement, whether by staff . . . commis¬ 

sion, and four rations per day, and Avithout any other pay, emoluments, 
or allowances. 

Sec. 17. That, in order to carry out the provisions of this act, the 
Secretary of War, . . . under the direction and approval of the 

President of the United States, shall, from time to time, as occasion 
may require, assemble a board of not more than nine, nor less than 
five commissioned officers, two-fifths of Avhoni shall be of the medical 
staff; the board, except those taken from the medical staff, to be com¬ 
posed, as far as may be, of his seniors in rank, to determine the facts 
as to the nature and occasion of the disability of such officers as 
appear disabled to perform such military service, such board being 
hereby invested with the powers of a court of inquiry and court-mar¬ 
tial, and their decision shall be subject to like revision as that of such 
courts l)y the President of the United States. . . . 

Sec. 18. That the officers partially retired shall be entitled to wear 
the uniform of their respective grades, shall continue to be borne 
upon the Army Register, . . . and shall be subject to the rules 

and articles of war, and to trial by general court-martial for any 
breach of the said articles. 


Sec. 20.^ That officers of the Arm}^, Avhen absent from their appro¬ 
priate duties for a period exceeding six months, either with or with¬ 
out leave, shall not receiA^e the allowances authorized by the existing 
laws for servants, forage, transportation of baggage, fuel, and quar¬ 
ters, either in kind or in commutation. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 25. That retired officers of the Army . . . may be 

assigned to such duties as the President may deem them capable of 
performing, and such as the exigencies of the public service may 
require. 

Act of August 6, 1861 {12 Stats., 316). 

AN ACT making appropriations for ratifications, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That any commissioned officer of the Army, . . . who 

having tendered his resignation, shall, prior to due notice of the 
acceptance of the same by the proper authority, and Avithout leave. 


C4ENERAL PROVISIONS. 


38 


shall quit his post or proper duties with the intention to remain per¬ 
manently absent therefrom, shall be registered as a deserter and pun¬ 
ished as such. 

* * * 
of My 2, 1862 {12 Stats., 502). 

AN ACT to prescribe an oath of office, and for other purposes. 

That hereafter every person . . . appointed to any office of 

honor or profit under the Government of the United States, . . . 

in the . . . military, . . . departments of the public service, 

excepting the President of the United States, shall, before entering 
upon the duties of such office, and before being entitled to any of the 
salary or other emoluments thereof, take and subscribe to the following 
oath or affirmation: ‘‘I, A. B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I 
have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I 
have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, coun¬ 
tenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hos¬ 
tility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted nor attempted 
to exercise the functions of any office whatever under any authority or 
pretended authority in hostility to the United States; that I have not 
yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, 
power, or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical 
thereto. And I do further swear (or affirm) that, to the best of my 
knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of 
the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will 
bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation 
freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that 
1 will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I 
am about to enter, so help me God;” which said oath, so taken and 
signed, shall be preserved among the files of the . . . Department 

to which the said office may appertain. And any person who shall 
falsely take the said oath shall be guilty of perjury, and on conviction, 
in addition to the penalties now prescribed for that offense, shall be 
deprived of his office and rendered incapable forever after of holding 
any office or place under the United States. 

Act of My 17, 1862im Stats., : 

AN 4CT to define the pay and emolume'ritS of'certain' officers of the Army, and for 

other purposes. 

That officers of the Army entitled to fpr^gei fpr horses shall not be 
allowed to commute it, but may draw forage in kind for each horse 
actually kept by them v/hen and at the place where the} on duty, 
not exceeding fche T*u)nber ai-tborized by law: Vrovidod, hov)e^^e7','^y'A*A 
when forage iu kind can *ndt be furnished by the proper department, 
then, and in all such cases, officers entitled to forage may commute 
the same according to existing regulations. . 

Sec. 2. That major-generals shall be entitled to draw forage in kind 
for five horses; brigadier-generals for four horses; colonels, lieu¬ 
tenant-colonels, and majors for two horses each; captains and lieu¬ 
tenants . . . having the cavalry allowance for two horses each. 

S. Doc. 229-3 


34 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 


Sec. 3. That whenever an officer of the Army shall employ a soldier 
for his servant, he shall, for each and every month during Avliich said 
soldier shall be so employed, deduct from his own montiily pay the 
full amount paid to or expended by the Government per month on 
account of said soldier. . . . 

* * 45 - 

Sec. 7. That in lieu of the present rate of mileage allowed to officers 
of the Army when travelling on public duty, where transportation in 
kind is not furnished to them by the Government, not more than six 
cents per mile shall hereafter bO allowed, unless where an officer is 
ordered from a station east of the Rocky Mountains to one west of the 
same mountains, or vice versa, when ten cents per mile shall be allowed 
to him; and no officer of the Army ... of the United States shall 
be paid mileage except for travel actually performed at his own 
expense and in obedience to orders. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 12. That whenever the name of any officer of the Army . . . 

shall have been borne on the Army Register . . . forty-five years, 

or he shall be of the age of sixty-two years, it shall be in the discretion 
of the President to retire him . . . ; and the President is hereby 

authorized to assign any officer retired under this section or the act of 
August third, eighteen hundred and &ixt 3 "-one, to any appropriate 
duty; and such officer thus assigned shall receive the full pay and 
emoluments of his grade while so assigned and emploved. 

*45- * 

March 3, 1863 {12-709 ).—LTnder section 42 the franking privilege was conferred 
on chiefs of bureaus or chief clerks, under regulations to be prescribed by the Post¬ 
master-General. The act of June 1, 1864, authorized franked matter to be conveyed 
free of postage without being indorsed “official business” or with the name of the 
writer. 

June 11, 1864 {13-123 ).—Heads of bureaus prohibited from receiving pay for their 
services in any matter where the United States is a party. 


Act of March 1866 {13 Stats. ^ 1^87) 

AN ACT to amend the several acts heretofore passed to provide for the enrolling and 
cadipg»opt tfie n^tiocial forces, and for other purposes. 

That the measure of allowance for pa^" of an officer’s servant is the 
pay of a private soldier. as fixed bj^ law at the time; that no noncom- 
niissioned officei shall be detailed or emplo 3 "ed to act as a servant, nor 
shall any private soldier be so detailed or employ’ed except with his 
own consent.;,tb^t for each sofdier employed as a servant bvanvofficer 
' fMn the monthly paj^ of such ofiicer the full 

montnty pay ahd allowances of fh'e soldier so'e'mplo\ ed; and that, 
including an^^ soldier or soldiers so employed, no officer shall be 
allowed tor any greater number of servants than is now provided by 
law, nor be allowed for any servant not actually and in fact in his 
employ. 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


35 


Act of Afarch 3^ 1865 (IS Stats. ^ Jf95). 

AN ACT making appropriations for tiie support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth June, eighteen hundred and sixty-sixd 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That from and after the first day of March, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty-five, and during the continuance of the present rebellion, 
the conimutation price of officers’ subsistence shall be fifty cents per 
ration: Provided., That said increase shall not apply to the commuta¬ 
tion price of the rations of any officer above the rank of brevet 
brigadier-general, or of any officer entitled to commutation for fuel 
and quarters. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That commissioned officers of the Army, serving in the field, 
shall hereafter be permitted to purchase rations for their own use on 
credit from an\^ commissary of subsistence at cost prices, and the 
amount due for rations so purchased shall be reported monthly to the 
Paymaster-General, to be deducted from the payment next following 
such purchase. And the Secretary of War is hereby directed to issue 
such orders and regulations as he may deem best calculated to insure 
the proper observance thereof. 

* * * 

Act of July 13, 1866 (IJf, Stats., 90). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and for other purposes. 

* . * * 

Sec. 8. That the allowance now made by law to officers travelling 
under orders where transportation is not furnished in kind shall be 
increased to ten cents per mile. 

Act of July 1866 (U Stats., 33^). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 25. (The Subsistence Department to sell, at cost, to the officers 
and men such articles as may be designated from time to time by the 
inspectors-general of the Army) and if not paid for when purchased 
a true account thereof shall be kept and the amount due the Govern¬ 
ment shall be deducted by the paymaster at the payment next follow¬ 
ing such purchase: Provided, That this section shall not go into effect 
until the first day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven. 

* * * 

Sec. 32.^ That officers of the Regular Ariii}^ entitled to be retired 
on account of disability occasioned by wounds received in battle may 
be retired upon the full rank of the command held by them, whether 
in the regular or volunteer service at the time such wounds were 
received. 

* * . * 


* Section 6 authorizes 1 pound of tobacco per mouth to be issued to enlisted men at 
cost prices exclusive of cost of transportation. 

^ Repealed by act of June 10, 1872. 




36 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 35. That the third section of the act entitled ‘‘An act inaking 
appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending thir¬ 
tieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-six,” shall continue in force 
for one year from the passage of this act: Provided^ That no officer 
who is furnished with quarters in kind shall be entitled to receive the 
increased commutation of rations hereby authorized. 

* * * 

Act of March 1861 Stats., m). 

AN ACT to provide for a temporary increase of the pay of officers in the Army of 
the United States, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

That for two years from the first day of July, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-six, all officers of the Army below the rank of major-general 
. . . shall be paid an addition of thirty-three and one-third per 

centum to their present pay proper; 

* * ■ 55 - 

Sec. 9. That section fifteen of the “Act to increase the present 
military establishment of the United States, and for other purposes,” 
approved June fifth, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, be amended 
so that general officers shall not hereafter be excluded from receiving 
the additional ration for every five years’ service; and it is hereby 
further provided that officers on the retired list of the Army shall 
have the same allowance of additional rations for every five years’ 
service as officers in active service. 

March 2,1867 {14-4S4) •—In computing length of service of any officer, he shall be 
credited with the time he actually served, continuously or at different periods, in 
the Regular Army, or in the volunteer service since April 19, 1861, First section of 
act of March 3, 1865, relative^to pay of an officer’s servant, not to be construed as 
retrospective or retroactive in its operation. 

March 2, 1867 {14-517 ).—Brevet rank may be conferred on officers for gallant, 
meritorious or faithful conduct in the volunteer service prior to their appointment in 
the Regular Army. " 

Resokttimi of July 25,1868 {15 Stats., 261). 

A RESOLUTION granting permission to officers and soldiers to wear the badge of 
the corps in which they served during the rebellion. 

That all who served as officers, noncommissioned officers, privates, 
or other enlisted men in the Regular Army, volunteer or militia forces 
of the United States during the war of the rebellion . . . shall be 

entitled to wear on occasions of ceremony the distinctive army badge 
ordered or adopted by the army corps and division, respectively, in 
which they served. 

March i, 1869 (Z5-^<?0).—Franking privilege can onlv be exercised by written 
autograph signature. 

Act of Jamiary 21, 1870 {16 Stats., 62). 


AN ACT relating to retired officers of the Army. 

That no retired officer of the Army shall hereafter be assigned to 
duty of any kind, or be entitled to receive more than the pay and 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


37 


allowances provided by law for retired officers of his ^rade; and all 
such assignments heretofore made shall terminate within thirty days 
from the passage of this act. 

* * -x- 

Besolutum of April 6, 1870 {16 Stats. ^ 372). 

A RESOLUTION relating to oflieers of the Soldiers’ Home. 

That the law passed January twenty-first, eighteen hundred and 
seventy, i3rohibiting the assignment of retired officers of the Army to 
duty shall not apply to officers selected by the Board of Commissioners 
of the Soldiers’ Home, District of Columbia, for duty at that institu¬ 
tion, such selection being approved by the Secretary of War: Pro¬ 
vided, That they receive from the (government only the pay and 
emoluments allowed by law to retired officers. 

Act of July 15, 1870 {16 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending June 
thirty, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, at his 
discretion, to place on the retired list of the Army, on their own 
application, any commissioned officers who have been thirty years in 
the service, and the officers who may be retired by virtue of this sec¬ 
tion shall be entitled to the same pay and emoluments as are now 
allowed, or may be hereafter allowed, to officers retired from active 
service. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. . . . it shall be unlawful for any officer to use any 

enlisted man as a servant in any case whatever. 

* * * 

Sec. 24. That the pay of the officers of the Armj^ shall be as follows: 
. . . The pay of major-general shall be seven thousand five hundred 

dollars; the pay of brigadier-general shalb be five thousand five hun¬ 
dred dollars; the pay of colonel shall be three thousand five hundred 
dollars; the pay of lieutenant-colonel shall be three thousand dollars; 
the pay of major shall be two thousand five hundred dollars; the pay 
of captain, mounted, shall be two thousand dollars; . . . the pay 

of first lieutenant, mounted, shall be sixteen hundred dollars; . . . 

the pay of second lieutenant, mounted, shall be fifteen hundred dollars; 

and there shall be allowed and paid to each and every 
commissioned officer below the rank of brigadier-general, includ¬ 
ing . . . others having assimilated rank or pay, ten per centum 

of their current yearly pay for each and every term of five years of 
service: Provided, That the total amount of such increase for length 
of service shall in no case exceed forty per centum on the yearly pay 
of his grade as established by this act: And provided further. That 
the pay of a colonel shall in no case exceed four thousand five hundred 
dollars per annum, nor the pay of a lieutenant-colonel four thousand 
dollars per annum, and these sums shall be in full of all commutation 
of quarters, fuel, forage, servants’ wages and clothing, longevity 
rations, and all allowances of every name and nature whatever, and 


88 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


shall be paid monthl}^ by the paymaster: Provided^ That fuel, (juarters, 
and forage in kind may be furnished to officers by the Quarter¬ 
master’s Department, as now allowed by law and regulations: And 
provided furthei\ That when an officer shall travel under orders, and 
shall not be furnished transportation by the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment, or on a conveyance belonging to or chartered by the United 
States, he shall be allowed ten cents per mile and no more, for each 
mile actually by him traveled under such order, distances to be calcu¬ 
lated according to the nearest post routes; and no pa 3 anent shall be 
made to any officer except by a paymaster of the Army. Officers 
retired from active service shall receive seventy-five per centum of the 
pay of the rank upon which they are retired. 

Junes, 187 S {17-283).—FY 2 ink\\\g privilege conferred on heads of bureaus; privilege 
to be exercised by written autograph signature; official communications addressed 
to them to pass free of postage. The act of January 31, 1873 (17-421), abolished the 
franking privilege after July 1, 1873, and the act of March 3,1873 (17-530), provided 
for special stamps and envelopes for official business. 

Act of June 10,187^2 {17 Stats,, 378). 

AN ACT relative to retired officers of the Army. 

That all officers of the United States Army who may hereafter be 
retired shall be retired upon the actual rank held b}^ them at the date 
of retirement, and the thirty^-second section of the act to increase and 
fix the military peace establishment of the United States, approved 
eJuly twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, is herebv repealed. 

May 8, 1874 {18-43). —Officers on duty west of north and south line through 
Omaha, Nebr., and north of line east and west upon southern boundary of Arizona, 
allowed 60 days’ leave with pay when taken once in 2 years, 3 months’ if once in 
three years, and 4 months’ if once in 4 years. 

Act of June 16, 187If. (18 'Stats., 72). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . That only actual traveling expenses shall be allowed to any 

person holding . . . appointment under the United States, and 

all allowances for mileages or transportation in excess of the amount 
actually paid are hereby declared illegal; . . . 

* * * 

Act of July 2i, 1876 (19 Stats., 97). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That when aiiy’^ officer travels under orders, and is not fur¬ 
nished transportation by the Quartermaster’s Department, or on a 
conveyance belonging to or chartered by the United States, or on any 
railroad on which the troops or supplies of the United States are 
entitled to be transported free of charge he shall be allowed eight cents 
a mile. 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


39 


REVISED STATUTES—SECOND EDITION—1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1145. Coinmissioned officers of the Army, serving in the field, 
may purchase rations for their own use, from any commissary of sub 
sistence on credit, at cost prices; and the amounts due for such pur¬ 
chases shall be reported monthly to the Paymaster-General. 

* * * 

Sec. 1204. . . . Promotions in the stafi' of the Arm}" shall be 

made in the several departments and corps, respectively. 

Sec. 1205. Officers may be transferred from the line to the staff of 
the Army without prejudice to their rank or promotion in the line; 
but no officer shall hold, at the same time, an appointment in the line 
and an appointment in the staff which confer equal rank in the Armv". 
^yhen any officer so transferred has, by virtue of seniority, obtained 
or become entitled to a grade in his regiment equal to the grade of his 
commission in the staff, he shall vacate either his commission in the 
line or his commission in the staff. 

* * * * 

Sec. 1227. All persons who have served as officers, noncommissioned 
officers, privates, or other enlisted men, in the Regular Army, volun¬ 
teer, or militia forces of the United States, during the war of the 
rebellion, * * * .shall be entitled to wear, on occasions of cere- 

mony, the distinctive army badge ordered for or adopted by the army 
corps and division, respectively, in which they served. 

* * * 

Sec. 1232. No officer shall use an enlisted man as a servant in any 

case whatever. 

* * * 

Sec. 1243. When an officer has served forty consecutive years as a 
commissioned officer, he shall, if he makes application therefor to the 
President, be retired from active service and placed upon the retired 
fist. When an officer has been thirty years in service, he may, upon 
his own application, in the discretion of the President, be so retired, 
and placed on the retired list. 

Sec. 1244. When any officer has served forty-five years as a commis¬ 
sioned officer, or is sixty-two years old, he may be retired from active 
service at the discretion of the President. 

Sec. 1245. When any officer has become incapable of performing 
the duties of his office, he shall be either retired from active service, 
or wholly retired from the service, by the President, as hereinafter 
provided. 

Sec. 1240. The Secretary of War, under the direction of the Presi¬ 
dent, shall, from time to time, assemble an army retiring board, con¬ 
sisting of not more than nine nor less than five officers, two-fifths of 
whom shall be selected from the medical corps. The board, excepting 
the officers selected from the medical corps, shall be composed, as far 
as may be, of seniors in rank to the officer whose disability is inquired of. 
* * * 

Sec. 1255. Officers retired from active service shall be withdrawn 
from . . . the line of promotion. 

Sec. 1250. Officers retired from active service shall be entitled to 




40 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

wear the uniform of the rank on which they may be retired. I hey 
shall continue to be borne on the Army Register, and shall be subject 
to the rules and articles of war, and to trial b}’^ general court-martial 

for any breach thereof. 

* * * 

Sec. 1259. Retired officers of the Army may be assigned to duty at 
the Soldiers’ Home, upon a selection by the commissioners of that insti¬ 
tution, approved by the Secretary of War; and a retired officer shall 
not be assignable to any other duty: Provided^ That they receive from 
the Government only the pay and emoluments allowed b}" law to retired 
officers. 

* * * 

Sec. 1261. The officers of the Army shall be entitled to the pay 
herein stated after their respective designations: 

* * * 

Major-general, seven thousand five hundred dollars a year. 

Brigadier-general, five thousand five hundred dollars a year. 

Colonel, three thousand five hundred dollars a 3 "ear. 

Lieutenant-cplonel, three thousand dollars a year. 

Major, two thousand five hundred dollars a year. 

Captain, mounted, two thousand dollars a year. 

* * * 

First lieutenant, mounted, sixteen hundred dollars a year. 

Second lieutenant, mounted, fifteen hundred dollars a 3 "ear. 

* * * 

All other storekeepers, two thousand dollars a year. 

Sec. 1262. There shall be allowed and paid to each commissioned 
officer below the rank of brigadier-general, including . . . others 

having assimilated rank or pay, ten per centum of their current yearl 3 ^ 
pay for each term of five years of service. 

Sec. 1263. The total amount of such increase for length of service 
shall in no case exceed forty per centum on the yearl 3 ^ pay of the 
grade as provided by law. 

Sec. 1264. Brevets conferred upon commissioned officers shall not 
entitle them to an 3 ^ increase of pa 3 L 

* * * 

Sec. 1267. In no case shall the pa 3 ^ of a colonel exceed four thou¬ 
sand five hundred dollars a year, or the pay of a lieutenant-colonel 
exceed four thousand dollars a 3 ^ear. 

Sec. 1268. The sums hereinbefore allowed shall be paid in monthl 3 ^ 
payments by the pa 3 unaster. 

Sec. 1269. No allowances shall be made to officers in addition to their 
pay except as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 1270. Fuel, quarters, and forage may be furnished in kind to 
officers, by the Quartermaster’s Department, according to law and 
regulations: Provided^ however^ That when forage in kind can not 
be furnished by the proper departments, then and in all such cases 
officers entitled to forage may commute the same according to existing 
regulations: . 

Sec. 1271. Forage in kind may be furnished to officers by the quar¬ 
termasters’ corps, as follows: 

Major-general, for five horses. 

Brigadier-general, for four horses. 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


41 


Colonel, for two horses. 

Lieutenant-colonel, for two horses. 

Major, for two horses. 

Captains and lieutenants, mounted, for two horses. 

* * * 

All other storekeepers, for two horses. 

Sec. 1272. Forage shall be allowed to officers only for horses author¬ 
ized by law, and actually kept by them in service when on duty and 
at the place where they are on duty. 

Sec. 1273. When any officer travels under orders, and is not fur¬ 
nished transportation by the Quartermaster’s Department, or on a 
conveyance belonging to or chartered by the United States, he shall be 
allowed ten cents a mile, and no more, for each mile actually traveled 
under such order, distances to be calculated according to the nearest 
post routes; and no payment shall be made to any officer except by a 
paymaster of the Army. 

Sec. 1274. Officers retired from active service shall receive seventy- 
live per centum of the pay of the rank upon which the}- are retired. 

* * * 

Sec. 1296. The President may prescribe the uniform of the Army 
and the quantity and kind of clothing which shall be issued annually 
to the troops of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 1299. The amount due from any officer for rations purchased 

on credit, or for any articles designated by the inspectors-general of 
the Army and purchased on credit from commissaries of subsistence, 
shall be deducted from the payment made to him next after such sale 
shall have been reported to the Paymaster-General. 

* * * 

Sec. 1779. No executive officer, other than the heads of Departments, 
shall apply more than thirty dollars annually, out of the contingent 
fund under his control, to pay for newspapers, pamphlets, periodicals, 
or other books or prints not necessary for the business of his office. 

* * * 

Sec. 3788. No officer in charge of any bureau or office in any Depart¬ 
ment shall cause to be printed, at the public expense, any report he 
may make to the President or to the head of the Department, except 
as provided for in this title. [Public Printing.] 

Sec. 3789. No printing or binding shall be done, or blank books 
furnished . . . for any of the Executive Departments, except on 

a written requisition by the head of such Department, or one of his 
assistants. 

* * * 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of June 18^ 1878 ifO Stats. ^ llf). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. Allowance of or commutation for fuel to commissioned offi¬ 
cers is hereby prohibited; but fuel may be furnished to the officers of 


42 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


the Arnw ))y the Quartermaster’s Department, for tlie actual use of 
such officers only, at the rate of three dollars per cord for standard 
oak wood, or at an equivalent rate for other kinds of^ fuel, according’ 
to the regulations now in existence; and forage in kind may be fur¬ 
nished to the officers of the Army, by the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment, onl}^ for horses owned and actually kept by such officers in the 
performance of their official military duties when on duty with troops 
in the field or at such military posts west of the Mississippi River, as 
may be from time to time designated b}" the Secretary of War, and 
not otherwise, as follows: 

* * * 

To a major-general, three horses. 

To a brigadier-general, three horses. 

To a colonel, two horses. 

To a lieutenant-colonel, two horses. 

To a major, two horses. 

To a captain (mounted), two horses. 

To a lieutenant (mounted), two horses. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That at all posts and stations where there are public quarters 
belonging to the United States, officers may be furnished with quar¬ 
ters in kind in such public quarters, and not elsewhere, by the Quar¬ 
termaster’s Department, assigning to the officers of each grade, 
respectivel}^ such number of rooms as is now allowed to such grade 
by the rules and regulations of the Army: Provided^ Tliat at places 
where there are no public quarters commutation therefor ma}^ be paid 
by the Pa}^ Department to the officer entitled to the same, at a rate not 
exceeding ten dollars per room per month. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That from and after the passage of this act all promotions 
in the Arm^q in each and every grade, . . . corps and depart¬ 

ment thereof, shall cease; and thereafter no promotions or appoint¬ 
ments shall be made to fill any vacancy which ma}" occur, or be created 
therein, until after such report shall be made and acted upon by 
Congress. 

* * * 

Act of Pine SO, 1882 {22 Stats., 117). 


AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three, and for other purposes. 

. . . And provided furthei''. That on or after the passage of this 

act, when an officer has served forty years either as an officer or soldier 
in the regular or volunteer service, or both, he shall, if he make appli¬ 
cation therefor to the President, be retired from adive service and 
placed on the retired list, and when an officer is sixty-four vears of age 
he shall be retired from active service and placed on “^the retired 
list. ... 


OKNERAL PROVISIONS. 


43 


Avt o f June SO^ 1S8G Stats. ^ 93). 

AN ACT iiiakin^ appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . That . . . the maximum sum to be allowed and paid 

I for mileag^e] shall be four cents per mile, . . . and in addition 

thereto the cost of transportation, exclusive of sleeping or parlor-car 
fare; . . . 

* * * 

Act of Fehriuiry ,9, 1887 if It, Stats. ^ 394). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

. . . That . . . the maximum sum to be allowed and paid 

to an officer [for mileage] shall be four cents per mile, . . . and 

. . . upon the officer’s certificate that it was not practicable to 

obtain transporbition from the Quartermaster’s Department, the cost 
of the transportation actually paid by the officer . . . , exclusive 

of sleeping or parlor car fare and transfers: And provided further., 
That wnen any officer so traveling shall travel in whole or in part on any 
railroad on which the troops and supplies of the United States are 
entitled to be transported free of charge, he shall be allowed for him¬ 
self only four cents per mile as a subsistence fund for every mile nec¬ 
essarily traveled over any such last-named railroad; . . . 

* * * 

Act of September 1888 if 5 Stats. ^ 481). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . That the transportation furnished by the Quartermaster’s 

Department to officers traveling without troops shall l)e limited to 
transportation in kind, not including sleeping or parlor car accommo¬ 
dations, over free roads, over bond-aided Pacific railroads, and by 
conveyance belonging to the said Department; . 

* * * 

March 2, 1889 {25-825 ).—The act of this date omits the requirement as to the cer¬ 
tificate of the officer. 

Resolution of Septemhei^ 25., 1890 {26 Stats., 681). 

JOINT RESOLUTION granting permission to officers and enlisted men of the Army 
and Navy of the United States to wear the badges adopted by military societies of 
men who served in the war of the Revolution, the war of eighteen hundred and 
twelve,* the Mexican war, and the war of the rebellion. 

That the distinctive badges adopted by military societies of men 
who served in the armies ... of the United States in the war of 
the Revolution, the war of eighteen hundred and twelve, the Mexican 
war, and the war of the rebellion, respectively, may be worn upon all 


44 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

occasions of ceremony by officers and enlisted men of the Army . . . 

of the United States, who are members of said organizations in their 
own right. 

Act of October i, 1890 {26 Stats., 662). 


AN ACT to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army and to regu¬ 
late promotions therein. 

That hereafter promotion to every grade in the Army below the 
rank of brigadier-general, throughout each . . . corps or depart¬ 

ment of the service, shall, subject to the examination hereinafter pro¬ 
vided for, be made according to seniority in the next lower grade of 
that . . . corps or department. . . . 

* * * 

Act of August 6, 1892 {27 Stats., Sf9). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 

the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and for 

other purposes. 

* * -X- 

No printing and binding shall be done by the Public Printer for the 
several Executive . . . Departments of the Government in any 

fiscal 3 mar in excess of the allotment for such Departments, and none 
shall be done without a special requisition, signed by the chief of the 
Department and tiled with the Public Printer. . . . 

Heads of Executive Departments shall direct whether reports made 
to them hj bureau chiefs . . . shall be printed or not. 

No report, document, or publication of an}^ kind distributed by or 
from ... or bureau of the Government shall contain any notice 
that the same is sent with ‘‘the compliments” of an officer of the 
Government. 

vt * * 

Marchs, 1897 {S9-609 ).—This act simply provides that the maximum sum to be 
allowed for mileage shall be four cents per mile. 

Act of March 16, 1898 {30 Stats., 318). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine. 

* * * 

. . . That the maximum sum to be allowed and paid to any offi¬ 
cer of the Army shall be seven cents per mile. . . . Provided 

further. That when any officer so traveling shall travel in whole or in 
j)art on any railroad on which the troops and supplies of the United 
States are entitled to be transported free of charge, or over any of 
the bond-aided Pacific railroads, or over the railroad of any railroad 
company which is entitled to receive only fifty per centum of the com¬ 
pensation earned by such company for transportation services rendered 
to the United States, he shall be furnished with a transportation request 
by the Quartermaster’s Department for such travel; and the cost of 
the transportation so furnished shall be a charge against the officer’s 
mileage account, ... to be deducted ... at rates paid by 
the general public, . . . Provided f urther. That officers who, by 


gp:nekal provisions. 


45 


reason of the decision of the accountino’ olHcers of the Ih'easuiy, have 
])een compelled to pay from their own means one-half of the cost of 
their travel fare over railroads known as lifty per centum roads, shall 
be reimbursed the same. ... 

* * * 

Acl of Ajyinl 1898 {.W StaU., 861). 

AN Atrr to provide for teiu})oriirily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other pnrj)oses. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 10 . . . . The statt' officers herein authorized for the corps, 

division, and brigade commanders may lie appointed by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, as officers of the 
Volunteer Army, or may be assigned by him, in his discretion, from 
officers of the Regular Army, or the Volunteer Army, or of the militia 
in the service of the United States: Provided^ That when relieved from 
such stall' service said appointments or assignments shall terminate.^ 

-X- * * 

Act (f May ^8, 1898 {30 Stats., 1^21). 

AN ACT to amend sections ten and thirteen of an act entitled “ An Act to provide for 
temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United States in time of 
war, and for other purposes,” approved April twenty-second, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-eight. 

That so much of section ten of the act approved April twenty-second, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, entitled “An Act to provide for 
temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United States 
in time of war, and for other purposes,” as provides that “officers 
appointed or assigned to the stall' of eommanders of army corjis, 
divisions, and brig-ades shall serve only in such capacity, and that when 
relieved from sucli stall' service such appointments or assignments shall 
terminate,” be, and the same is hereb}", repealed, and that assignments 
of the officers of the volunteer stall' shall be governed by the same 
rules and regulations as those of the Regular Army. 

-x- * * 

Act <f March 2, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increaHing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 


Sec. T. . . . That in time of war retired officers of the Army 

may, in the discretion of the President, be employed on active duty, 
other than in the command of troops, and when so employed they shall 
receive the full pay and allowances of their grades. . . 

-x- * * 

Sec. 14. . . . Provided, That for each Regular Army officer of 

a stah' corps or department who may be retained in or appointed to a 

^For designation of staff officer.s, .see Adjutant-tteneral, Inspector-General, Judge- 
Advocate-General, Quartermaster-General, Commissary-General, Surgeon-General, 
and Engineers. 




46 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

higher volunteer rank in said staff corps or department than that actu¬ 
ally held him in the regular establishment there ma}^ be appointed 
one officer of volunteers of the lowest grade mentioned in this section 
for such staff* corps or department, but no appointment will be made 
which will increase the total number of officers, regular and volunteer, 
serving in any grade above the number authorized by this act: And 
pn'cmided cdso^ That all the volunteer staff officers herein authorized 
to be appointed or retained in the service shall be honorably discharged 
on July first, nineteen hundred and one, or sooner if their services 
are no longer required: And provided further^ That the officers herein 
authorized shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate.^ 

Sec. 15. . . . Provided also^ That each and every provision of 

this act shall continue in force until eJuly first, nineteen hundred and 
one; and on and after that date all the . . . staff . . . officers 

appointed to the Army under this act shall be discharged, and the 
members restored in each grade to those existing at the passage of this 
act: . . . And provided further ^ That no officer who has been, or 

may be, promoted under existing law, or under the rules of seniority, 
shall be disturbed in his rank. 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 1899 {SO Stats., 1061,). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Regular and Volunteer Army 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred. 

* * * 

. . . That actual expenses only shall be paid to officers when 

traveling to and from our island possessions in the Atlantic and Pacific 
oceans. 

* * , * 

Act of May m, 1900 {31 Stats., —). 


AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Regular and Volunteer Army 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one. 

* * * 


For mileage to officers . . . Provided further. That officers 

who so desire may, upon application to the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment, be furnished with transportation requests, exclusive of sleeping 
and parlor car accommodations, for the entire journey under their 
01 dels; and the transportation so furnished shall be a charge against 
the officer’s mileage account, to be deducted at the rate of three cents 
per mile. . . . And movided further. That when the established 

route of travel shall, in whole or in part, be over the line of any rail¬ 
road on which the troops and supplies of the United States are entitled 
to be transported free of charge, or over any of the bond-aided Pacific 
railroads, or over the railroad of any railroad company which by law 
or agreement is entitled to receive only fifty per centum of the com- 
pensation earned by such company for transportation services rendered 
tne United States, officers traveling as herein provided for shall, for 


^For retention in service pf officers of the volunteer staff, see Adjutant-General 
Judge-Advocate-General, Quartermaster-General, Commissary- 
General, feurgeon-General, Paymaster-General, and Signal Corps. ^ 





GENERAL PROVISIONS. 


47 


the travel over such roads, be furnished with transportation requests, 
exclusive of sleeping and parlor car acconiniodations, ]>y the Quarter¬ 
master’s Department: And 'provided further^ That when transporta¬ 
tion is furnished by the Quartermaster’s Department, or Avhen the 
established route of travel is over any of the railroads above sped tied, 
there shall be deducted from the officer’s mileage account b}^ the pay¬ 
master paying the same three cents per mile for the distance for which 
transportation has been or should have been furnished: And provided 
furth<i\ That actual expenses only shall bo paid to officers for sea 
travel Avhen traveling, as herein provided for, to, from, or l)etween 
our island possessions: Provided also^ That hereafter when an officer 
shall be discharged from the service, except by way of punishment for 
an otfense, he shall receive for travel allowances from the place of 
his discharge to the place of his residence at the time of his appoint¬ 
ment or to the place of his original muster into the service, four 
cents per mile. . . . That for sea travel on discharge, to, from, 
or between our island possessions, actual expenses only shall be paid 
to officers. . . . 

* * * 

. . . Provided^ That hereafter the pay proper of all officers 

. . . serving in Porto Rico, Cuba, the Philippine Islands, Hawaii, 

and in the Territory of Alaska shall be increased ten per centum for 
officers. . . . 

* * * 

That the act approved January twelfth, eighteen hundred and ninety- 
nine, granting ‘‘’extra pay to officers and enlisted men of the United 
States Volunteers,” shall extend to all volunteer officers of the general 
stall' who have not received waiting-orders pay prior to discharge, at the 
rate of one month to those who did not serve beyond the limits of the 
United States and two months to those who served beyond the limits 
of the United States; . . . 

* * * 

Two months’ extra pay, on discharge, to those who had served faith¬ 
fully beyond the limits of the United States, and one month’s extra 
pay to those who had served within the limits of the United States. 

Act of February 1901 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 26. . . . That when vacancies shall occur in the position 

of chief of any stall' corps or department the President may appoint to 
such vacancies, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, offi¬ 
cers of the Army at large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
and who shall hold office for terms of four years. When a vacancy in 
the position of chief of any stall' corps or department is lilled by the 
appointment of an officer below the rank now provided b}^ law for said 
office, said chief shall, while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and 
allowances now provided for the chief of such corps or department. 
And any officer now holding office in any corps or department who 
shall hereafter serve as chief of a stall' corps or department and shall 
subsequently be retired, shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allow¬ 
ances authorized by law for the retirement of such corps or department 


48 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF I7. S. ARMY. 


chief: Provided^ That so long as there remain in service officers of any 
staff corps or department holding permanent appointments, the chief 
of such staff corps or department shall be selected from the officers so 
remaining therein. 

Sec. 34. That all officers who have served during the war with Spain, 
or since, as officers of the Regular or Volunteer Army of the United 
States, and have been honorably discharged from the service by resig¬ 
nation or otherwise, shall be entitled to bear the official title and, upon 
occasions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the highest grade they 
have held by brevet or other commission in the regular or volunteer 
service. 

* * * 

Sec. 41. That the distinctive badges adopted by militaiy societies 
of men ‘‘who served in the armies and navies of the United States 
during the Spanish-American war and the incident insurrection in the 
Philippines” may be worn upon all occasions of ceremony by officers 
and men of the Army and Navy of the United States who are members 
of said organizations in their own right. 

Act of March 1901 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 

June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

. . . Promded., That leaves of absence which ma}" be granted 

officers of the Regular or Volunteer Army serving in the Territory of 

Alaska or without the limits of the United States, for the purpose of 

returning thereto, or which may have been granted such officers for 
such purpose since the thirteenth day of October, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-eight, shall be regarded as taking effect on the dates such 
officers reached or may have reached the United States, respectively, 
and terminating, or as having terminated, on the respective dates of 
their departure from the United States in returning to their com¬ 
mands, as authorized by an order of the Secretary of AVar dated Octo¬ 
ber thirteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight: . . . Provided 

further., That any officer or enlisted man in the service of the United 
States who was discharged in the Philippine Islands and there reen¬ 
tered the service through commission or enlistment shall, when dis¬ 
charged, except hy way of punishment for an off'ense, receiv^e for travel 
allowances from the place of his discharge to the place in the United 
States of his last preceding appointment or enlistment, or to his home if 
he was appointed or enlisted at a place other than his home, four cents per 
mile: . . . That hereafter the pay proper of all officers . . . 

serving beyond the linr’ts of the States comprising the Union, and the 
Territories of the United States contiguous thereto, shall be increased 
ten per centum for officers . . . over and above the rates of pay 

proper as fixed by law for time of peace, and the time of such service 
shall be counted from the date of departure from said States to the 
date of return thereto: Provided furtlur^ That the officers . . . 

who have served in China at any time since the twenty-sixth day of 
May, nineteen hundred, shall be allowed and paid for such service the 
same increase of pay proper as is herein provided for: 


ll.-THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT. 


S. Doc. -A 


49 


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THE ADJITTANT-GENEHAL’S DEPARTMENT. 


The Adjutant-General’s Department go nornine was first established 
under the act of March 3, 1813. 

From the disbandment of the Army in 1783 until the act of March 
3, 1791, there was no regular Adjutant-General. The act of March 5, 
1792, provided for an adjutant who should also do duty as inspector, 
and this dual function continued until the reorganization of the Army 
in 1821, which abolished the office of Adjutant and Inspector-General. 
This act, in effect, reduced the Adjutant-General’s Department to one 
officer. There appears to have been no change in the legal status of 
the Department from that date to 1838, when, by the act of July 5 of 
that year, the President was empowered to appoint as many adjutant- 
generals, not exceeding six, as he might deem necessaiy. 

June 17, 1775.—Brig. Gen. (Maj. Gen., May 16, 1776) Horatio Gates (Virginia). 
June 5, 1776.—Col. Joseph Reed (Pennsylvania). 

Jan. 22, 1777.—Brig. Gen. Arthur St.Clair (Pennsylvania), Acting Adjutant-General. 
Feb. 20, 1777.—Brig. Gen. George Weedon (Virginia), Acting Adjutant-General. 
Apr. 19, 1777.—Col. Morgan Connor (Virginia), Acting Adjutant-General. 

June 18, 1777.—Col. Timothy Pickering^ (Massachusetts). 

Jan. 5, 1778.—Col. Alexander ScammeP (Massachusetts). 

Jan. 8, 1781.—Brig. Gen. Edward Hand (Pennsylvania). 

Nov. 5, 1783.—Capt. William North,® Sixteenth Massachusetts Continental Infantry 
(Massachusetts), Acting Adjutant and Inspector. 

Oct. 18, 1787.—Ensign and Adjutant Ebenezer Denny, First American Regiment 
(Pennsylvania), Acting Adjutant-General. 

Nov. 7, 1790.—Lieut. John Pratt, First American Regiment (Connecticut), Acting 
Adjutant-General. 

Sept.—,1791.—Lieut. Col. Winthrop Sargent,^ militia (Massachusetts), Acting 
Ad j utan t-General. 

Nov. 4, 1791.—Lieut. Ebenezer Denny, First Infantry (Pennsylvania), resumed 
duties of Acting Adjutant-General. 

Mar. 10, 1792.—Lieut. Henry De Butts, Fourth Infantry (Maryland), Acting Adju¬ 
tant and Inspector-General. 

Apr. 11, 1792.—Lieut. Col. Winthrop Sargent,^ militia (Massachusetts). 

Feb. 23, 1793.—Maj. Michael Rudolph, Light Dragoons (Georgia). 

July 18, 1793.—Sublegionary Maj. and Inspector Edward Butler (Pennsylvania), 
Deputy pro tern. 

May 13, 1794.—Maj. John Mills, Second Sublegion (Massachusetts), Acting Adju¬ 
tant-General and Inspector. 

Feb. 27, 1796.—Maj. Jonathan Haskell, Fourth Sublegion (Massachusetts), Acting 
Adjutant-General and Inspector. 


^ Colonel Pickering was elected a member of the Board of War November 7, 1777, 
but continued to do duty as Adjutant-General until General Scammel’s arrival Jan¬ 
uary 13,1778. 

® Colonel Scammel resigned his staff appointment January 1, 1781, to take com¬ 
mand of the First New Hampshire Regiment, but remained at headquarters until 
relieved by General Hand January 12, 1781. 

®On the general disbandment of the Continental Army, Captain North, who had 
been designated as inspector to the troops remaining in service, acted as adjutant and 
insjiector to October 28, 1787. 

* Colonel Sargent declined the appointment, assigning as a reason that the office 
was not attended with sufficient rank. 


51 




52 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Aiig. 1, 1796.—Capt. Edward Butler, Fourth Sublegioii (Pennsylvania), Acting 
Adjutant-General and Inspector. 

Feb. 27, 1797.—Maj. Thomas H. Cushing,^ First Infantry (Massachusetts). 

July 19, 1798.—Brig. Gen. 'William North (New York). 

Mar. 26, 1802.—Maj. Thomas H. Cushing,'* First Infantry (Massachusetts), Adjutant 
and Inspector. 

Apr. 2, 1807.—Maj. Abimael Y. Nicoll, of the Artillerists (New York), Adjutant 
and Inspector. 

Ai)r. 28, 1812.—Lieut. Col. Alexander Mac^omb,^ engineers (New York), Acting 
Adjutant-General. 

July 6, 1812.—Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Cusliing (Massachusetts). 

Mar. 12, 1813.—Brig. Gen. Zebulon M. Pike‘ (New York), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

May 9, 1814.—Brig. Gen. IVilliam II. IVinder (Maryland), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

Nov. 22, 1814.—Brig. Gen. Daniel Parker^ (Massachusetts), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

Aug. 13, 1821.—Col. James Gadsden® (North Carolina). 

May 8, 1822.^Capt. Charles J. Nourse, Second Artillery (District of Columbia), 
.Acting Adjutant-General. 

Mar. 7, 1825.—Col. Roger Jones (Virginia). 

July 15, 1852.—Col. Samuel Cooper (New York). 

Mar. 7, 1861.—Col. (Brig. Gen., August 3, 1861), Lorenzo Thomas (Delaware). 

Feh. 22, 1869.—Brig. Gen. Edward D. Townsend (IMassachusetts). 

June 15, 1880.—Brig. Gen. Richard C. Drum (Pennsylvania). 

June 7, 1889.—Brig. Gen. John C. Kelton (Pennsylvania). 

July 5, 1892.—Brig. Gen. Robert'Williams (Virginia). 

Nov. 6, 1893.—Brig. Gen. George D. Ruggles (New York). 

Sept. 11, 1897.—Brig. Gen. Samuel Breck (Massachusetts). 

Feh. 25, 1898.—Brig. Gen. (Maj. Gen., June 6, 1900) Henry C. Corbin (Ohio). 


’ The act of March 3, 1797, permitted the Brigadier-General (General in Chief'' to 
select his brigade major from the line of the Army. Major Cushing, not having relin- 
(piished his rank in the infantry on being appointed inspector, was selected by Gen¬ 
eral Wilkinson and continued to perform the duties of inspector and adjutant until 
May 22, 1798. 

** The act of May 14, 1800, disbanded the adjutant-general, and the duties of adju¬ 
tant and inspector were performed, under detail, by Major Cushing (who resided in 
Washington) from June 15, 1800, to April 2, 1807. 

® Colonel Macomb relieved Major Nicoll, April 28, 1812, having been directed in 
War Department order of that date “to perform the duties of Adjutant-General until 
further orders.” 

^General Pike was killed, after the capture of York, upper Canada, by tlie explo¬ 
sion of a magazine April 27, 1813. From this time until May 19, 1814, the office 
remained vacant, the act of March 3, 1813, having been construed to the effect that 
there could be but one Adjutant and Inspector-General, who must either bean officer 
appointed and confirmed to that office, or else be a brigadier-general especially des¬ 
ignated by the President to perform the functions. The affairs of the office were 
meanwhile administered by Maj. C. K. Gardner, Assistant Adjutant-General, until 
December 30, 1813, and from that date to IMay 28, 1814 (with the exception of the 
brief term of service of General 'Winder) by Col. J. De B. Walbach, Adjutant-General, 
who was relieved at that date by Maj. John R. Bell, assistant inspector. 

^General Parker was appointed Paymaster-General June 1, 1821. By general 
orders of that date from headquarters of the Army Lieut. E. Kirby, aid-de-camp, was 
directed to perform the duties of Adjutant-General of the Army until further orders. 

®Colonel,Gadsden’s appointment was not confirmed bv the^ Senate and his com¬ 
mission expired March 22, 1822. On the following April 12 the President renomi¬ 
nated him for the office, but the Senate adhered to its original determination. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

June 16. 1775. 


Resolved., . . . That there be an Adjutant-General. 

That his pay be one hundred and twenty-tiv e dollars per nionth. 

June 17. 1775. 

The Congress then proceeded to the choice of the officers in the 
Army by ballot. 

-X- * -X- ^ 

Horatio (xates, esq., Adjutant-General. 

Resolved^ That Horatio Gates, esq.,* now (diosen Adjutant-General, 
shall have the rank of brigadier-general. 

July 9, 1775. —Announces appointment of Brig. Gen. Horatio (tates as Adjutant- 
General of the Army. {Orders, General Heudquarters, Cauibrldge.) 

July 17, 1775. 

Resolved, That the convention of New York be desired to recom¬ 
mend to General Schuyler a proper person for a deputy adjutant- 
general, or brigade major for the Army in the New York Department. 

July 19, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That it be left to General Washington, if he 

thinks fit, to appoint three brigade majors and commission them 
accordingly. 

July W, 1775. 

Resolmd, That the pay of the ... be ... : 

Deputy^ adjutant-general, fifty dollars per do. (month). 

* * * 

Brigade major, thirty-three dollars per do. (month). 

' Aumist 15, 1775. — “David Henley,-esqr., is appointed brigade major to General 
Heath’s brigade.” 

“John Triimhnll, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General Spencer’s brigade.” 

“Richard Carey, esqr., is appointed brigade major to the brigade commanded by 
the eldest colonel.” 

“Thomas Chase, Daniel Box, and Alexander Scammel, esqr., are appointed to 
continue to do duty of brigade majors to the brigades they respectively belong.” 

August 17, 1775. —“Thomas Chase, esqr., is to continue to do duty as major of bri¬ 
gade to Brigadier-General Thomas’s brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge .) 

August so, 1775. —“ By the orders of the 17th instant, Thomas Chase, esqr., was, to 
the prejudice of Samuel Brewer, esqr., through mistake appointed to be continued to 


* Afterwards major-general, and, in 1777, president of the Board of War. He 
accompanied Washington to Cambridge. 


53 




54 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


do duty to Brigadier-General Thomas’s brigade, as major of brigade. Ilis excellency 
orders that mistake to be rectified, and directs Samuel Brewer to be continued to act 
as major of brigade to Brigadier-General Thomas.” {Orders^ General Headquarters, 
Cambridge.) 

September U, 1775. 

Resolved., That Edward Flemming, esq., be appointed deputy 
adjutant-general for the Army in the New York or Northern Depart - 
ment, with the rank of a colonel. . . . 

September 21, 1775. 

Resolved, That General Washington be ordered to issue commissions 
to Majors Box, Scammel, and Brewer as brigade majors. 

• * * * 

Resolved, That General Schuyler be empowered to nominate and 
appoint a proper person to the office of brigade major in the army 
under his command, and to issue a commission accordingly. 

November 8 , 1775 .— “ Congress directs you to acquaint General Schuyler that they 
approve of his appointment of Captain Dimon to be a brigade major, and have ordered 
him a commission accordingly.” {Letter of committee to Messrs. R. R. Livingstone, Rob¬ 
ert Treat Paine, and J. Langdon.) 

January 7, 1776 .—“The Adjutant-General will this day deliver to the brigade 
majors the number of the new articles of war necessary for each regiment, in their 
respective brigades; and that no mistake in regard to the said articles may possibly 
happen, each book is signed by the honorable John Hancock, esqr., president of the 
Continental Congress, and countersigned upon the title page by William Tudor, esqr., 
Judge-Advocate of the Army of the United Colonies.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Cam bridge .) 

Marchs, 1776 .—“All arms in store fit for use may be delivered out to the Adjutant- 
General’s order.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 


March 6, 1776. 

Resolved, That Thomas Bullit, esq., be appointed deputy adjutant- 
general in the Southern Department with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel. 

March 23, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . The committee on qualifications having recom¬ 

mended Peter Scull to be a brigade major in the Army of the United 
Colonies in the Middle Department. 

* * * 

Resol/ved, That commissions be granted to them accordingly. 

31arch SO, 1776. 


Resolved, That each brigadier-general, when in command, be empow¬ 
ered to appoint a brigade major. 

Maxj 18, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Thomas Bullit, esq., the deputy adjutant- 

general in Virginia, be advanced to the rank of colonel. 


55 


THE ADJUTANT-GENEKAL’s DEPAKTMENT. 

June 5, 1776. 

Mesolved^ That the . . . deputy adjutants-general, 

iimke regular returns and reports to Congress, and to the respective 
omcers to whom they are deputies, at least once a month, and that the 
principals also make returns to Congress at the same periods. 

* * * 

Congress then proceeded to the election of an Adjutant-General 
• . . to fill up the vacancies in those offices; when the ballots being 

taken and examined, 

Joseph Reed, esq., was elected Adjutant-General . . . 

* * * 

Resolved, That Joseph Reed, esq., have the pay of 125 dollars a 
month and the rank of a colonel. 

June 17, 1776. 

^ Resolved, That an experienced general be immediately sent into 
Canada, with power to appoint a deputy adjutant-general, . 
and such other officers as he shall find necessary for the good of the 
service . . . and notify the same to Congress for their approba¬ 

tion. 

June 18, Joseph Reed, esqr., is appointed Adjutant-General of all the Con¬ 

tinental forces with the rank of colonel.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

.inae29, 7776*.—“Jonathan Mifflin, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General 
Mitllin.” {Orders, General Headrjuarters, New York.) 

July 19, 1776. 

The Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy adjutant-general 
for the flying camp; and the ballots being taken, 

Samuel Griffin, esq., was elected. 

Resolved, That Mr. Griffin, as deputy adjutant-general, have the 
rank of colonel. 

July 25, 1776. —“Peter Gusdon, esqr., is appointed major of brigade to Brigadier- 
General Heard.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

July 28, 1776. —“William Peck, esqr., who has for sometime past done the duty of 
brigadier major to General Spencer, is appointed to that office.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, New York.) 

August 7, 1776. —“John Palsgrave Wyllys, esqr., is appointed brigade major to 
General Wadsworth; Mark Hopkins, esqr., to General Fellows.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, New York.) 

August 9, 1776 .—“Nicholas Fish, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General 
Scott.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

August 12, 1776. —“ Major Henly (for the present) is to do duty as brigade major 
in General James Clinton’s brigade. Major Box in General Nixon’s, Major Living¬ 
ston in Lord Stirling’s, and Major Peck in (General Parsons’, and Richard Platt, esqr., 
is to do duty of brigade major in General McDougall’s.” ( Orders, General Headquar¬ 
ters, New York.) 

August 15, 1776. —“Capt. Thomas Dyer to do the duty of brigade major to General 
Parsons’ brigade till further orders.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

August 20, 1776. —“Edward Tilghman, esqr., is appointed as an assistant brigade 
major to Lord Stirling, the duty of the whole division being too great for one officer.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

August21, 1776. —“Adjutant Taylor to do the duty of brigade major to General 
McDougall’s brigade during Major Platt’s illness.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
New York.) 

August 31, 1776. —“ Ebenezer Gray is appointed brigade major to General Par¬ 
sons.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Ntw York.) 


56 LKGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U S. ARMY. 


Sepiemher 1, 177G .—“Samuel Augustus Barker to act as major totlie ])riga(leunder 
Colonel Douglass; Benjamin Talmadge, brigade major to Col. Chester.” {Orders, 
Gener(d JleiKh/nnrters, New York .) 

September 4, 1776’.—Captain Howell, of the. 2nd Jersey regiment, was appointed 
brigade major to the 3rd Brigade (Col. Stark’s). {Orders, General llead/piarters, 
Ticonderoga.) 

September 6, 1776.—“David Henley, esqr., is appointed depy. adjt. general until 
further onlers, and immediately to repair to General Spencers’ division to regulate 
the several returns and do the other duties of said office, extending his care to the 
division under General Heath.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

September 7, 1776 .—“Major Lee is desired to do the duty of brigade major in Major 
Henly’s stead, till an appointment is made.” {Orders, General Headeguarters, New 
York.) 

September 9, 1776 .—“ Mr. Adjutant Bradford to do the duty of brigade major to 
General Nixon’s brigade during Major Box’s illness.” ( Orders, General Ileadepiariers, 
New York.) 

September 10, 1776 .—“Major Scammell is appointed a temporary assistant to the 
Adjutant-General, and is to repair to General Heath’s division.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Neiv York.) 

September 12, 1776. 


Congress then proceeded to the election of sundry officers; and the 
ballots being taken, 

* * * 

John Trumbull, esq., was elected deputy adjutant-general of the 
Army in the Northern Department. 

September 28, 1776. —“Mr. Finn Wadsworth is appointed major of brigade to 
General AVadsworth.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October 7, 1776. —“Capt. William McWilliams, of the 3rd Virginia Regiment, is to 
do the duty of brigade major in Colonel AVeedon’s brigade till further notice.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October 9, 1776 .—“David Dexter, esqr., is appointed to act as brigade major to the 
brigade under Colonel Lippet.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October 11,1776.—'' [Benjamin] Talmadge, esqr., isappointed brigade major to Gen¬ 
eral AAbidsworth.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October 17, 1776 .—“Daniel Lyman, esqr., is appointed major of brigade to General 
Fellows.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 


Octoler 21, 1776. 


I Eesohed, ... That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the stall" in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows: . . . 

To the . . . deputy adjutant-general, (> rations, . . . 


. Octobp'26, 1776.—''Capt Ebenezer Huntington is to assist the Adjutant-General 
m regulating the duties and details of General Heath’s division till further orders.” 
{Orders, (general Headquarters, White Plaim.) 

October ^.9 7776'.--Alexander Scammell, esqr., appointed assistant to the adjutant- 
general for General Lee’s division. {Orders, General Headquarters, White Plams ) 


November 19,1776. 


Eesolyed, [that weekly returns of all rations issued or paid be made 
by the Commissary-General or his deputies] to the Adjutant-General 
or his deputies, to be by him inserted in the general returns of the 
Army, and transmitted to Congress monthly. 


January 13, 1777.— Till an Adjutant-General is appointed the duty of that offii 
uill be discharged by Colonel A\ eedon, who is obliging enough to undertake it m 
tempore.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown ) nnoertake it pr 

is appointed brigade major to Genen 

bt. Cldir. {Orders, General Headquartcr.s, MorrisPnvn.) * ^ 


57 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT. 

Fehruary W, 1777, 

Resolved^ That the President write to General Gates ana inform him 
it is the earnest desire of Congress that he should resume the office of 
Adjutant-General, and that his present rank and pay shall be continued 
to him. 

Febr uary 1777. 

Resolved^ That Thomas Bullit, esq., deputy adjutunt-general, have 
the rank of a colonel in the Continental establishment. 

March 1,1777 .—“Isaac Budd Dunn, esqr., willdothe duty of Adjutant-General pro 
tempore, and to be attended to accordingly.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Mor¬ 
ristown. ) 

March m, 1777, 

Ordered,, That the President acquaint General Washington that 
Congress expect the office of Adjutant-General to be filled by a speedy 
appointment of a person of abilities and unsuspected attachment to 
these United States, and recommend Colonel William Lee to his con¬ 
sideration for this purpose. 


, April Jp, 1777, 

Rewired^ . . . That the Adjutant-General be ordered to send 
monthly to the Board of War a copy of the abstracts [of all the musters, 
regimentally digested, and of the rations drawn or retained by the 
several regiments] which he received from the commissary-general of 
musters, together with an abstract of the returns of the Army. 

Aprils, 1777. —“Major Dunn being obliged to attend Major-General St. Clair to 
Philadelphia, to which place he is called by Congress, Lieut. Colonel Connor will 
be obliging enough to discharge the duty of Adjutant-General pro tempore.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

April 11, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the pay of brigade majors in the Conti¬ 

nental Arm}" be raised to 50 dollars a month. 

Ayyril 19, 1777. 

Resolved, , . . That General Gates be empowered to appoint a 

deputy adjutant-general for the Northern Department. 

April 19, 1777. —Deputy Adjutant-General Trumbull’s resignation was accepted. 

May 11,1777. —‘ ‘ Benjamin Day, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General Wood¬ 
ford, and Samuel Shaw, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier-General 
Knox.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

May 13, 1777. —“William Johnson, esqr., formerly brigade major to General Lewis, 
is appointed to that duty in Brigadier-General Scott’s Brigade.” {Orders, General 
Headtpiarters, Morristown.) 

May Up, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . [A major-general and a brigadier-general not hav¬ 
ing the command of a separate department shall each be allowed forage 
for six horses for themselves,] their . . . brigade majors . . . 


58 lp:gislative history of general staff of u. s. army. 


The ComiTiander in Chief and the commander of any separate depart¬ 
ment shall he authorized to allow such quantities of forage, and for 
and during such times, as the}^ shall think proper, . . . to the 

Adjutant-GeneL’al and his deputies, . . . : Provided always, Thixt 

if any of the officers above mentioned, their deputies or assistants, 
should be allowed forage in consequence of any general orders here¬ 
after given, and should nevertheless not keep any or so many horses 
as they would be permitted to draw forage for, in such case no forage 
shall be issued for more horses than they really have, nor shall they 
at any time thereafter be allowed any forage, or back allowance, or 
any money in lieu thereof. 

May 16, 1777. —“Francis Swain, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier- 
General Muhlenberg.” {Order.s, General Headquarter.Morristown.) 

May 19, 1777. —“ Thomas Mullens, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier- 
General De Borre.” {Orders, General Headquarters, MorriMown.) 

May 20, 1777. —“ Valentine Peers, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier- 
General Weedon.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown. ) 

May 21, 1777. —“Michael Ryan, esqr. (late brigade major to the garrison of Ticon- 
deroga and Fort Independence), is appointed to that duty in Brigadier-General 
Wayne’s Brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristoivn.) 

May 26, 1777. —“Peter Tarling, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier- 
General Conway. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown. ) 

May 27, 1777. 

Resolved, That if General Gates, before General Schuy'ler’s arrival 
at Albany, shall have appointed a deputy adjutant-general, . . . 

for the Northern army, the said appointments be confirmed; if not, 
that General Schuyler be empowered to make these appointments. 

May 29, 1777 .—“Major Ryan, who has done the duty of the Adjutant-General for 
some days past, is now excused from that service.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Middle Brook.) 

J^une2, 1777. —“Until the arrival of Brigadier De*Haas, the eldest officer in his 
brigade is to take the cominand, and John Harper, esqr., is appointed to the duty 
of brigade major in that brigade till further orders.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Middle Brook.) 

June 10. 1777. 


Resolved, . . . XXXIV. That no returns of rations drawn or 

returned b}^ the several regiments be hereafter made by the . 
commissary-general of musters ... to the Adjutant-General, or 
by the Adjutant-General to the board of war, as directed in the regu¬ 
lations of the muster master general’s department, passed bv Congress 
the 4th day of April last. ^ ^ 


June 18 1777.— Timothy Pickering, esqr., is appointed Adjutant-General to the 
Continental Army. . . . The General begs Col. Connor to accept his thanks for 

his obliging and punctual discharge of the office for the time he has acted as such.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Middle Brook.) 

7777.—“Thomas Fosdick, esqr., was on the first instant appointed brigade 
major to Brigadier-General Glover.” h 


Roger Alden, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier-General 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Pompton Plains.) 


Huntington.” 


July 17, 1777. 

C^enoral Spencer be informed, in answer to his letter 
Congress confirm the appointment by him of 
William :^ck, esq., deputy adjutant-general to the militia and State 
troops of Rhode Island, kept in Continental pay. 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT. 


59 


Avgmt 28^ p77. —“Joseph Scott, esqr,, is appointed brigade major to General 
Muhlenberg, in the room of Major Swaine, resigned.” {Orders, General Headquar¬ 
ters, Wilmington.) 

September 2, 1777. —“Mathew Smith, esqr., is appointed deputy adjutant-general 
in the Continental Army.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Wilmington.) 

October 3, 1777 .—“Lewis Fleury, esqr., is appointed brigade major to the Count 
Pulaski, brigadier-general of the Light Dragoons.” 

“Thomas Mullens, esqr., is to act as brigade major to General Conway till further 
orders.” {Orders, General Headquarters at Wentz's, Worcester Tonnsiiip.) 

October 6, i777.—“Thomas Mullens, esqr., appointed the 3rd instant to act as 
brigade major to General Conway, is now, for his gallant behavior on the 4th instant, 
a})pointed brigade major to General Conway.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Perkiomy .) 

October 11, 1777. —^^“Capt. Paul Parker, of Colonel Hartley’s regiment, is appointed 
to do the duty of brigade major in General Wayne’s brigade till further orders.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Toiramensing.) 

October 14, 1777. —“Lyman Hitchcock, esqr., is appointed to do the duty of brigade 
major in the 2nd Maryland Brigade, late De Borre’s.” 

“IMr. John Lawson, adjutant to the Prince William Militia, is appointed to do the 
duty of brigade major in the brigade of militia under the command of Colonel 
Crawford.” 

“Richard Emory, esq., is appointed to do the duty of brigade major in the First 
IMaryland Brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Towamensing.) 

October 36, 1777. —“Captain Thomas Patterson, of Col. Dayton’s regiment, is ap¬ 
pointed brigade major (pro tempore) for General Maxwell’s brigade.” {Orders, Gen¬ 
eral Headquarters, WJiitpain.) 

October 30, 1777. —“Capt. McGowen is appointed to do the duty of brigade major 
in the brigade, late De Haas’s.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Whitpain Township.) 

November 6, 1777. —Colonel James Wilkinson, Adjutant-General of Northern Army, 
being strongly recommended by General Gates as a “gallant officer and a promising 
military genius,” was, in consideration of his services in that department, given the 
brevet of brigadier-general. 

November 18, 1777. —“Richard Claiborne, esq., is appointed brigade major to Gen¬ 
eral Weedon’s brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, White Marsh.) 

December 36, 1777. —Henry McCormick, esq., appointed brigade major to the 
Pennsylvania brigade. ( Orders, General Hdqrs. ) No place given. 

January 3, 1778. —Adjutant Marvin, appointed brigade major pro teni. to Gen. 
Varnum’s brigade. {Orders, General Headquarters.) No place given. 

January 5, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of an adjutant-general in the 
room of Colonel Pickering, who is called to the board of war, and, the 
ballots being taken. Colonel Alexander Scammel was unanimously 
elected. 

January 8, 1778. —John Berrien, appointed brigade major to the North Carolina 
brigade. ( Orders, Genered Headquarters, Valley Forge. ) 

January 13, 1778. —Lieut. Stagg, of Colonel Malcolm’s regiment, appointed brigade 
major pro tem. in the brigade late General Conway’s. {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Valley Forge.) 

January 1778. 

Besolved^ . . . That ... a deputy adjutant-general . . . 

be appointed to act pro tempore for the troops aforesaid [from New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, con¬ 
stantly employed in Rhode Island for the defense of the State and of 
the Providence Plantations]; that the . . . deputy adjutant- 

general ... be appointed by the officer commanding at the post 
[Providence]; and that each . . . take the oath of fidelity and 

office. 

February 36, 1778 .—Captain Duval and Adjutant Haskell, appointed to act as 
brigade majors in General McIntosh’s and General Patterson’s brigades, respectively, 
fill the return of Brigade Majors Met Jure and Berrien. {Orders, General Headquar¬ 
ters, Valley Forge.) 


60 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


March 22, 1778 .—Captain T. »Seely, appointed ))ri^j:ade major in the 2nd Penn, 
brigade, vice Brigade Major McGowan. ( Ordem, General Ileadqnarfers, Valley Forge .) 

March 25, 1778. —Mr. Fanski, adjutant in General Huntington’s brigade, appointed 
to duty as brigade major in the absence of Brigade Major Alden. {Orders, Genend 
Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

March 29, 1778 .—Captain Walker, of Colonel Livingston’s regiment, appointed 
brigade major pro tern, in General Poor’s brigade. ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
Valley Forge.) 

April 14 , 1778. —Lieut. McLinney to act as brigade major in the late Conway’s 
brigade till Major Stagg returned. 

April 26, 1778 .—Elihu Marshall, adjutant 2nd N. Y. Regiment, appointed to act as 
brigade major in Gen. Poor’s brigade until further orders. {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Valley Forge.) 

May 5, 1778 .—Aaron Ogden, esqr., appointed brigade major in Gen. Maxwell’s 
brigade. {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 


May U, 1778. 

Resolved., That a deputy adjutant-general be appointed for the army 
in the Northern Department under the command of General Gates. 
The ballots being taken, 

Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Troup was elected. 

May 21, 1778. —Mr. Vowles, adjutant 7th Va. Regiment, appointed as brigade 
major in GeneralWoodford’s brigade. {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 


May 27, 1778. 


Resolved, That the brigade major be appointed, as heretofore, by 
the Commander in Chief or commander in a separate department, out 
of the captains in the brigade to which he shall be appointed. 

* * * 

Resolved, That in addition to their pay in the line there be allowed 
to ... a brigade major 2A dollars. . .. . 

Resolved, . . . The present . . . brigade majors to receive 

their present pay and rations. 

Resolved, That . . . brigade majors . . . shall hold their 

present ranks, and be admissible into the line again in the same rank 

they held when taken from the line; provided, that no . . . bri¬ 
gade major . . . shall have the command of any officers who 

commanded him while in the line. 

Resolved,^ That whenever the Adjutant-General shall be appointed 
from the line he may continue to hold his rank and commission in 
the line. 

Jane 2,1778. 


Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy adjutant-general in 
the Northern Department in the room of Lieutenant-Colonel Troup 
who declines and whose commission is returned by General Gates’ 
and the ballots being taken, " ’ 

William Malcolm was elected. 


June u, H78.— On the march Lieut. Colonel Fleury will be attached to General 
Lee s Lieut. Colonel Davies to General Stirling’s; Lieut. Colonel Barber to 

General de La Fayette’s; Lieut. Colonel Brooks 
to General De Kalb s, and, as they will not be employed on the march in exercising 
or maiiceuvermsr the troons. thev am tn fill _i in his 



iiispei-ior in vreiierai Varmim’s brio-ade 
'*“"'8 ''"‘y capacities. ( Mers, 


thp: adjutant-general’s department. 


61 


June 10,1778. 

Resolned^ That Colonel William Malcolm, deputy adjutant-^-eneral 
in the Army, now under command of Major-General Gates, be per¬ 
mitted to hold his rank in the Army and his regiment, if the same 
shall be kept up in the new arrangement now making. 


Novemheft^ 17,1778. 

Congi-ess })roceeded to the election of a deputy adjutant-general 
. . . for the troops in the Southern Department; and the ballots 

being taken. 

Captain PMmund Hyrne was elected deputy adjutant-general . . . 

for the troops in the Southern Department, they having been previ- 
ousl}^ nominated by the Delegates of South Carolina. 

Januarn 8, 1779 .—“Lieutenant Robert Porterfield, of the 7th Virginia Regiment, is 
to do the duty of brigade major till further orders in General Woodford’s brigade. 
Brigade Major Porterfield being absent.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle 
Brook.) 


February 18, 1779. 

Resolved., . . . that the office of Itrigade inspector shall in future 

be annexed to that of major of brigade. 

Mat/13, 1779 .—“Major Cabell is appointed brigade major and inspector to Gen¬ 
eral Muhlenberg’s brigade and Major Croghan to General Woodford’s.” {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Middle Brook.) 


May 17, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Adjutant-General of the Armj^ of the United 
States be allowed the same rations as a brigadier-general. 

That he be permitted to engage two assistants and one clerk, the 
assistants to be taken from the line, and both the}" and the clerk to be 
approved of by the Commander in Chief. 

That each assistant be allowed such an addition to his appointments 
as an officer of the line as shall make the same equal to those of a 
lieutenant-colonel. 

That the clerk be taken from the subalterns or volunteers in the 
Army, and allowed pay and subsistence equal in the whole to those of 
a captain. 

May 24, 1779. —“Capt. Nicholas Gilman, of the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment, 
from the 15th of January, 1778, and Capt. John Singer Dexter, of the 1st Rhode 
Island Regiment, from the 1st of May following, are appointed assistants to the 
Adjutant-General.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle Brook.) 

June 12, 1779. —“Capt. Alexander, entitled to a majority, is appointed brigade 
major to the 1st, and Capt. Moore, also entitled to a majority, is appointed brigade 
major to the 2nd Pennsylvania brigades.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Smith's 
Tavern.) 

June 16, 1779 .—“Major Archibald Anderson is appointed brigade major to the 1st 
}Iaryland Brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Smith's Tavern.) 

June 21, 1779 .—“ Col. Davies, as eldest subinspector, will do the duty of Adjutant- 
General during said time” [temporary absence of the Adjutant-General with the 
Commander in Chief]. {Orders, General Headquarters, Smith's Tavern.) 


62 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


June 1779. 

Resolved., That majors, in consideration of their extra duty, acting 
as . . . majors of brigade, receive $44 per month, in addition to 

their regimental pay. 

* * * 

ResoUed, That the Adjutant-General, for the time being, be also 
assistant inspector-general. 

June 24 , i77P.—“Capt. Henry Hardman, of the 7th Maryland Regiment, entitled to 
a majority, is appointed brigade major to the 2nd Maryland Brigade.” {Orders, Gen¬ 
eral Headquarters, New Windsor .) 

Juhj 1, 7775.—“Henry McCormick, esq., late brigade major to the 1st Penna. 
Brigade is appointed to do the duties of brigade major and brigade inspector to the 
light corps under Brig. General AVayne.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New 
Wind.3or .) 

July 8, 7775.—“Major Oliver, of the Massachusetts line, is appointed major of 
brigade to Gen’l Nixon’s Brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New Windsor.) 

July 13, 1779 .—“Capt. Selman, of the 4th Maryland Regiment, is appointed to the 
duty of brigade major in the 2nd Maryland Brigade till further orders, vice Capt. 
Hardman, who declines that duty at present.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New 
Windsor.) 

Jidy 26, 1779 .—“Lt. Col. Brooks, a subinspector in the Army, is to be considered 
as deputy adjutant-general in the garrison at West Point and its dependencies.” 

“Major Andrew Peters, of Col. Bailey’s regiment, is appointed brigade major, 
etc., in the 4th Massachusetts (commonly called Late Learned’s) Brigade.” ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, Moords House.) 

July 31, 1779 .—“John Davidson, esq., of the 2nd Maryland Regiment, and eldest 
capt. in the Maryland Brigade is appointed brigade major to the same till further 
orders, vice Ca^-t. Selman, whose ill state of health prevents his doing that duty.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Moords House.) 

August 2, 1779 .—“Capt. John Doughty, of the Corps of Artillery, is appointed 
brigade major to the same till further orders.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, Moords 
House.) 

November 6, 1779 .—“Major Scott, of the New Hampshire line, is appointed brigade 
major to Gen’l Poor’s Brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Moords House.) 

December 24 , 1779 .—“Major Church, of the 4th Pennsylvania Reg’t, is appointed 
brigade major and inspector to Gen’l Hand’s Brigade.” {Orders, General Ileadquar- 
ters, Morristown.) 

December 25, 1779 .—“The Adjutant-General having leave of absence Col. Williams 
is appointed to perform the duties of the office until his return.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Morristown.) 

January 1, 1780 .—“Capt. Brice, of the 3rd Maryland Regiment, is appointed brigade 
major and brigade inspector of the 1st Maryland Brigade till further orders.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown .) 

April 11, 1780 .—“ Colonel Scammell, having returned, will resume the duties of his 
office. The Commander in Chief requests Col. Williams to accept his thanks for the 
attention, assiduity, and propriety with which he has conducted the office in the 
absence of Col. Scammell.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristowii.) 

June 1780. 

Resolved.^ . . . That Major-General Gates be, and he is hereby, 

authorized to appoint a deputy adjutant-general . . . [for the 

Southern army]. 

July 12, 77<95.—“Capt. McGowan is to do the duty of brigade major in Gen’l 
Hand’s Brigade till Lieutenant-Colonel Comniand’t Butler’s health permits him to 
join his regiment.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, Pracaness.) 

July IS, 1780. 

Resolmd, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of ofheers, and no more, unless it be 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT. 


63 


by order of the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a sepa¬ 
rate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many bag¬ 
gage wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to-wit: 

* * * 

Adjutant-General and aissistants ... 1 covered -f-horsc wagon. 

Deputy adjutant-general with a separate army ... 1 2-horse 

wagon. 

* * * 

liesolved^ Tliat in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon an(^ 
bathorses by these regulations, there be issued ... as many 
rations as the service shall require. 

. . Adjutant-General and his family, including what he may 

draw in the line, seven deputy adjutants-general for a separate army, 
three including what he may draw in the line . . . 

My 20,1780 .—“Captain Ogden of the Jersey Brigade is appointed to do the duty 
of brigade major in the same until the return of Major Ross.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Pracaness.) 

September 16, 1780 .—“ Major James Moore is appointed brigade major ... to 
the 1st Pennsylvania Brigade from the 21st of July last.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Steenrapia.) 

September 1780. 

Resolved.^ . . . There shall be one assistant inspector-general 

with the main army, who shall be adjutant-general for the time being, 
and shall receive in addition to his pay $10 per month; and one to 
every separate army, when consisting of two or more divisions, who 
shall be the deputy adjutant-general, and shall receive in addition to 
his pay $8 per month. 

* * * 

The assistant inspectors-general shall assist in the general duties of 
the department . . . and they shall nevertheless continue to per¬ 

form their duties of adjutant and deputy adjutant-general. 

The inspectors shall attend to the execution of the regulations estab¬ 
lished for the Arm}^ in their respective divisions ... at all times 
performing the dut}' of adjutant-general to the same; and when a 
detiichment of more than one division is sent from the Army the eldest 
inspector of the marching troops shall act as adjutant-general to the 
detachment. 

The subinspectors shall do the duty of majors of brigade to the 
brigades to which they belong . 

November 11, 1780 .—“ Captain Converse is to do the duty of brigade major . . . 

to tiie 2d Connecticut Brigade in the absence of Major Woodbridge.” {Orders, Gen¬ 
eral Headquarters, Fotoioa?) 

November ^8, 1780. 

Ordered., That . . ., the Adjutant-General, ... be sup¬ 

plied with the journals of Congress. 

December 1780. 

Resolved., That instead of the additional pay allowed to officers in 
the inspector’s department by the resolution of Congress of the 25th 
of September last, the following sums be allowed, viz: 

To the Adjutant-General, as assistant inspector, 35 dollars per 
month. 


64 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GP:NEKAL STAFP^ OF U. S. ARMY. 


January 1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of Adjutant-General, and, the 
ballots being taken, 

Brigadier-General Hand was elected. 

January 12^ 1781. 

That the additional pay of . . . brigade majors, . . . 

agreeably to the act of 27th Ma}", 1778, be considered as fixed in specie; 
and that the same, from and after the 18th day of August last, be 
drawn in bills of the new emission. 

July 14, 1781. —“Captain Robert Pemberton [is] appointed assistant adjutant- 
general, vice Dexter, promoted, and joined his regiment.’’ {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters near Dobbs Ferry .) 

August 19, 1781. —“Lient. Col. Grosvenor is appointed to the duty of deputy 
adjutant-general of the troops placed under the immediate command of Major- 
General Heath.” {Orders, General Headquarters near Dobbs Ferry.) 

October 2, “Capt. John Carlisle, of Genl. Hazen’s regt., is appointed an 

assistant to the Adjutant-General.” {Orders, General Headquarters before York.) 

June <28, 1782. 

Resolved., That so much of the resolution of Congress of the 27th 
day of May, 1778, as relates to additional pay given to captains . . . 

acting as . . . brigade majors be, and is hereby, repealed. 

Resolved., That there shall be such additional pay and emoluments to 
the pay of captains . . . serving as . . . brigade majors as 

shall make their pay and emoluments equal to the pay and emoluments 
of a major in the line of the Army. 

August i, 1782. " 

Resolved^ That the Adjutant-General be appointed by Congress from 
the general officers, colonels, lieutenant-colonels, commandants, or 
lieutenant-colonels in the Army; his pay shall be 125 dollars per montli; 
he shall receive four rations per day, and 254 dollars per month sub¬ 
sistence. The Adjutant-General shall also be allowed forage for four 
riding horses, and be furnished with two four-horse and one two-horse 
covered wagons for the transportation of his official papers, his own, 
his assistants’, and clerk’s baggage. He shall have two assistants and 
one clerk, to be appointed by himself, and approved of by the Com¬ 
mander in Chief. The assistants shall be majors or captains in the 
Army. The pay of each shall be 50 dollars per month, one ration and 
a half per day, 8 dollars per month for subsistence, and forage for 
two riding horses. The assistants shall be allowed each 6f dollars per 
month for servant’s wages and the clothing and rations allowed to a 
private soldier. The clerk shall be a subaltern or volunteer in the 
Army; his pay shall be 40 dollars per month; he shall draw one ration 
per day, and receive 64 dollars per month subsistence. 

That there be as many deputies adjutant-general of the rank of field 
officers as there may be separate armies in the United States that con¬ 
sist of one or more divisions, to be appointed occ‘asionally by the 
commanding officer of such army, whose name shall be returned to 
the Commander in Chief for his approbation. 


THE ADJUTANT-GENEKAL'S DEPARTMENT. 


65 


That the deputy adjutants-general shall each receive 75 dollars per 
month pay, two rations per day, and 12| dollars per month subsistence, 
forage for three riding horses, one four-horse and one two-horse cov¬ 
ered wagons, for the transportation of their official papers, their own 
and assistants’ baggage. 

The deputy adjutants-general shall each appoint one assistant of the 
rank of major or captain, who shall be approved of b}" the command¬ 
ing officer under whom they serve. The assistants appointed and 
approved as aforesaid shall each receive the same pay and allowances 
as are given above to an assistant of the Adjutant-General. 

That there be one major of brigade to each brigade in the armies of 
the United States, whether of cavalry, artillery, or infantry, who shall 
be appointed by the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a 
separate arm}" -as occasion may require, upon the recommendation of 
the Adjutant-General or deputy adjutant-general, as the case may be, 
and they shall each receive the same pay and allowances as is given to 
the assistants of the Adjutant-General by the foregoing resolutions. 

That the provisions hereby made for the respective officers afore¬ 
said shall be in full compensation for their services, and of all pay and 
allowances to which they may be entitled from their rank in the Army. 

These regulations shall take effect on the first day of January next, 
and from thenceforth that all acts, resolutions, pay, and appointments 
heretofore made in an 3 "wise respecting the Department of Adjutant- 
General and brigade majors shall cease, and are hereby repealed. 

August 27, 1782. —“The Adjutant-General, having agreed to spare Capt. Carlisle, of 
Ilazen’s Regt., one of his assistants, to do the duty of brigade major to the corps of 
light infantry, he will immediately enter on that service.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Newburgh .) 

October 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the following be the proportion of 

wagons and bathorses to the different ranks of officers: . . . 

* * * 

Adjutant General, two covered four-horse wagons; for the baggage 
of his assistant, clerks, and official papers, one two-horse wagon. 

* * * 

That there be allowed for saddle horses: 

* * * 

Adjutant-General. 4 rations. 

Dejuity with a separate army. 3 do. 

Each assistant. 2 do. 

* * * 

November 22, “Capt. Jeremiah Fogg, of the 2nd New Hampshire Regt., is 

appointed brigade major of the New Hampshire Brigade from the 11th instant, vice 
Capt. Robinson.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

December 31, 1782. 

Resolved, That Brigadier-General Hand be, and he is hereby, con¬ 
tinued in the office of Adjutant-General. 

January 9, “Captain Richard Cox, of the 1st Jersey Regiment, is continued 

in the office of major of brigade to the Jersey Brigade; 

“Captain Benjamin Hicks, of the 1st New York Regiment, to the New lork 
Brigade; 

S. Doc. 229-5 






66 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


“Captain Nathaniel Cushing, of the 1st Massachusetts Regiment, to the 1st 
Massachusetts Brigade; 

“Captain Abraham Williams, of the 2d Massachusetts Regiment, to the 2d Massa¬ 
chusetts Brigade; 

“Captain J. K. Smith, of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment, to the 3d Massachusetts 
Brigade, and- 

“Captain Jeremiah Fogg, of the 2d New Hampshire Regiment, to the (New) 
Hampshire Brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Neivburgh.) 

January 12, 1783. —“ Captain J, Walker, of the 3rd Connecticut Regt., is continued 
in the office of major of brigade to the Connecticut Brigade.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

January 14, 1783. —“Captain John Carlisle, of General Hazen’s Regt., is appointe<l 
asst, adjutant-general, to take place with the new arrangement.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Neivburgh.) 

March 1, 1783. —“Captain Aaron Ogden is appointed major of brigade to the Jer¬ 
sey Brigade, vice Cox promoted January 6th, 1783. ( Orders, General Headquarters, 

Newburgh .) 

April 8, 1783. —“Captain Simeon Lord (late of the 20ih Massachusetts Regiment) 
is appointed assistant adjutant-general, * * his appointment to have effect 

from the first day of February last.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Neivburgh.) 

October 31, 1783. —Secretary of War reported that the following accepted the com¬ 
mutation of five years’ pay in lieu of half pay for life: Adjutant-General and family, 
Brigadier-General Clinton. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 3, 1791 {1 Stats. ^ ^22). 


AN ACT for raising and adding another regiment to the military establishment of 
the United States and for making further provision for the protection of the fron¬ 
tiers. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That in case the President of the United States should deem 
the employment of a . . . brigadier-general . . . essential 

to the public interest, ... a brigadier-general so appointed may 
choose his brigade major from the captains or subalterns of the 

line. . . . 

Sec. 6. That in case a . . . brigade major . . . should be 

appointed, their pay and allowances shall be, respectively, as herein 
mentioned: . . . That the brigade major be entitled, including 

ail allowances, to the same pay, rations, and forage as a major of a 
regiment. . . . 

* * * 

Act of March 5, 1792 {1 Stats., 24 . 1 ). 

AN ACT for making further and more effectual provision for the protection of the 
frontiers of the United States. 


Sec. 7. ^ That the monthly pa}'^ of the commissioned officers 
on the military establishment of the United States . . . shall be in 

future, as follows, free of all deductions, to wit: General staff: . . 

Adjutant, to do also duty of inspector, seventy-five dollars; 
brigade major, to act also as deputy inspector, in addition to his pay 
in the line, twenty-four dollars. ... 


67 


THE ADJUTANT-GENEEAL’s HEPAETMENT. 

Act of March 3, 1795 {1 Stats., iSO). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military establishment of the United 
States and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed on that subject. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the monthly pay of the officers ... on the mili¬ 
tary establishment of the United States be as follows, to wit: General 
staff: . . . Adjutiint-General, to do also the duty of inspector, 

seventy-five dollars; . . . brigade major to act "also as deputy 

inspector, in addition to his pa}" in the line, twenty-four dollars. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations 
of provision, to wit: ... A lieutenant-colonel commandant, 
. . . six rations; . . . brigade major, . . . four rations, 

. . . or money in lieu thereof, at the option of the said officers, at 

the contract price, at the posts, respectively, where the rations shall 
become due. 

Sec. 12. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever 
forage shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the 
following-enumerated sums, per month, instead thereof, to wit: . . . 
Adjutant-General, . . . twelve dollars; . . . brigade major, 

. . ten dollars. . . . 

* * * 

Act of May SO, 1796 (1 Stats., 4SS). 

AN ACT to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one brigadier-general, who 

may choose his brigade major from the captains or subalterns of the 
line; which brigade major shall receive the monthly pay of twenty-four 
dollars in addition to his pay in the line, be entitled to four rations 
of provisions for his daily subsistence, and whenever forage shall not 
be furnished by the public to ten dollars per month in lieu thereof; 
. . . one inspector,^ who shall do the duty of Adjutant-General, 

* -X- * 

Sec. 23. That the general staff, as authorized by this act, shall con¬ 
tinue in service until the fourth day of next March, and no longer. 

Act of March 3, 1797 {1 Stats., 507). 

• AN ACT to amend and repeal in part the act intituled “An act to ascertain and fix 
the military establishment of the United States.” 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That there shall be one brigadier-general, who may choose 
his brigade major . . . from the captains and subalterns in the 

^ The Inspector-General acting as Adjutant-General is entitled under this act to 
$25 in addition to his pay in the line, six rations per day, and $12 per month for 
forage. 



68 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


line (to . . . whom there shall be allowed the monthly pay of 

twenty-five dollars in addition to his pay in the line and two rations 
extraordinary per da}^ and whenever forage shall not be furnished 
by the public to ten dollars per month in lieu thereof). 

* * * 


Act of May n, 1798 {1 StaU., 557). 

AN ACT to amend the act intituled “An act to amend and repeal in part the act 
entitled ‘An act to ascertain and fix the military establishinent of the United 
States.’ ” 

Sec. 1 . That the brigadier-general who is now, or may hereafter 
be, in the service of the United States be, and he hereby is, authorized 
to choose his brigade major . . . from the commissioned officers 

in the line of the Army; and that so much of the second section of the 
act intituled ‘‘An act to amend and repeal in part the act entitled ‘An 
act to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States’ ” 
as confines the choice of brigade major ... to the captains and 
subalterns of the line be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

* * * 


Act of May 28, 1798 {1 Stats ., 558). 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to raise a provisional army. 


Sec. 6 . That whenever the President shall deem it expedient he is 
hereby empowered, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to appoint ... an Adjutant-General, who shall have the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a brigadier-general; . . . and the President is 

hereby authorized alone to appoint from time to time, when he shall 
judge proper, assistant inspectors to every separate portion of the 
Arni}^, consisting of one or more divisions, who shall be deputy 
adjutant-generals thereof, respectively, and who shall be taken from 
the line of the Army, and allowed in addition to their pay eight dollars 
per month; . . . 

Sec. 7. . . . Provided, That in case the President shall judge 

it expedient to appoint . . . an Adjutant-General ... in 

the recess of the Senate, he is hereby authorized to make . 
said appointments and grant commissions thereon which shall expire 
at the end of the next session of the Senate thereafter. 


Sec. 9. That the . . . Adjutant-General . . . who may be 

appointed by virtue of this act shall . . . continue in commission 

during such term only as the President shall judge requisite for the 
public service. ... 

Sec. 10. That no . . . stafi' officer who shall be appointed by 

virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive pay or emoluments until 
he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time than he 
shall continue therein. . . . 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT. 69 

Act of July 16^ 1798 {1 Stats, ^ 60If). 


AN ACT to augment the Army of the United States, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one Adjutant-General, with 

one or more assistant or assistants (to be taken from the line of the 
Army), ... 

Sec. 4. . . . The Adjutant-General .shall be entitled to the rank, 

pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general. . . . 

* * * 

Act of Afarch J, 1799 {1 Stats. ^ 71^9). 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That when any officer shall be detached from a regiment to 
serve . . . as an assistant to the Adjutant-General, by whatsoever 

name, the place of such officer in his regiment shall be supplied by 
promotion or new appointment, or both, as may be requisite; but the 
officer detached shall, nevertheless, retain his station in his regiment, 
and shall rank and rise therein in the same manner as if he had not 
been detached. 

Sec. 7. That no officer shall be appointed . . . as an assistant 

to the Adjutant-General who when appointed shall be of a rank higher 
than that of captain. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That the Adjuhint-General of the Army shall be ex offtcio 
assistant inspector-general, and that every deputy inspector-general 
shall t)e ex officio deputy adjutant-general, and shall perform the duties 
of adjutant-general in the army to which he shall be annexed. 

* * * 

Act of Ajrril 1800 Stats., 38). 

AN ACT to fix the compensation of the Paymaster-General and assistant to the 

A d j utant-G eneral. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 2. That the pay of the assistant of the Adjutant-General, in 
addition to his pay and other emoluments in the line of the Army, 
shall be forty dollars .per month, which shall l)e in full compensation 
for his extra services and travelling expenses, to be computed from 
the time of his entering upon actual service. 

Act of Afarch 16., 1802 {2 Stats., 132). 

AN ACT to fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one adjutant and inspector of 

the Army,^ to be taken from the line of field officers. . . . 

* Under this act the offices of Adjutant-General and Inspector-General were united. 



70 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 4. That the monthly pa}^ of the officers . . . be as follows, 

to wit: ... To the adjutant and inspector of the Ann}", thirt}^- 
eight dollars in addition to his pay in the line. ... 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled to 
receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations of 
provisions: A colonel, six rations; a lieutenant-colonel, live rations; 
a major, four rations, ... or money in lieu thereof at the option 
of the said officers ... at the posts respectively when the rations 
shall become due; and if at such posts supplies are not furnished by 
contract, then such allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having 
reference to former contracts and the position of the place in ques¬ 
tion; . . . and to every commissioned officer who shall keep one 

servant, not a soldier of the line, one additional ration. 

* * * 


Act of April 1808 Stats., 181). 


AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional militarj" force. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That in the recess of the Senate the President of the United 
States is hereby authorized to appoint all or any of the officers, other 
than the general officers, proper to be appointed under this act, which 
appointments shall be submitted to the Senate, at the next session, for 
their advice and consent. 

Sec. 9. That every . . . staff officer to be appointed in virtue 

of this act shall be a citizen of the United States or some one of the 
Territories thereof. 

Act of January 11, 1812 (2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That there shall be appointed . . . live brigadier-gen¬ 

erals, each of whom shall be allowed a brigade major, ... to be 
taken from the captains and subalterns of the line; and there shall 
also be appointed one Adjutant-General, . . . with the rank, pay, 

and emoluments of a brigadier-general. The said Adjutant-General 
shall be allowed one or more assistants, not exceeding three, to be 
taken from the line of the Army, with the same pay and emoluments 
as by this act are allowed to a lieutenant-colonel. . . 

Sec. 5. That when an officer is detached to serve . . . as an 

assistant to the Adjutant-General ... on the appointment of a 
general officer ... he shall not thereb}^ lose his rank. 

Sec. 6. . . . The brigadier-generals, respectively, shall be 

entitled to one hundred and four dollars monthly pay, twelve rations 
per day, and sixteen dollars per month for forage when not found bv 
the public. 

* * * 

Sec. 25. That no . . . staff officer who may be appointed by 

virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive any pay or emoluments 
until he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time 
than he shall continue therein. 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT. 


71 


Act of May 16, ISm {2 Stats., 735). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That each brigade major provided by law shall be allowed 
twenty-four dollars per month, in addition to his pa}" in the line. 

* * 

Act of July 6, ISm tf Stats., 782). 

AN ACT respecting the pay of the Army of the Un itc'd States. 

That ... to the brigade majors, under the act passed January 
the eleventh, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, there shall be 
allowed for forage for one horse, or in lieu thereof ten dollars per 
month. . . . 


Act of July 6, 1812 (2 Stats., 784). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

[Authorizes the President to appoint two additional brigadier-gen¬ 
erals] who shall each be entitled to the same number of . . . brigade 
majors as are allowed to a brigadier-general under the act of Congress 
passed the eleventh of January, one thousand eight hundred and 
twelve. And the said . . . brigade majors shall be entitled to 

receive the same pay and emoluments as are by law allowed to officers 
of the same grade. 

Sec. 2. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the Adjutant-Greneral . . . shall serve, it shall be lawful for 
tho President to appoint one deputy adjutant-general, . . . who 

shall be taken from the line of the Army, and who shall each, in addi¬ 
tion to his pay and other emoluments, be entitled to fifty dollars per 
month, which shall be in ull compensation for his extra services. And 
that there shall be to each of the foregoing deputies such number of 
assistant deputies (not exceeding three to each department) as the pub¬ 
lic service may require, who shall, in like manner, be taken from the 
line, and who shall each be entitled to thirty dollars per month, in 
addition to his pay and other emolaments, which shall be in full com¬ 
pensation for his extra services: And provided also. That the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint 
any of the officers named in this act during the recess of the Senate, to 
be submitted to the Senate at their next meeting, for their advice and 
consent. 

Sec. 3. That all letters and packages to and from the Adjutant-Gen¬ 
eral . . . shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Act of Felyruary 2Ip, 1813 (2 Stats., 801). 

AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general officers. 

That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint 
. . . six brigadier-generals, who shall be allowed a brigade major 
. . . , to be taken also from the officers of the line. 

Sec. 2. That the officers authorized by this act shall receive the 
same pay, forage, rations, and other emoluments as the officers of the 
same grade of the present military establishment. 



72 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of March 3, 1813 Stats. ^ 819). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

That the Adjutant-General’s . . . departments shall consist of 

the following officers: That is to say, an Adjutant and Inspector Gen¬ 
eral, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general, and 
not exceeding eight adjutants-general, sixteen assistant adjutants- 
general, ... 

Sec. k That the President of the United States be, and is hereby, 
authorized, if he shall deem it expedient, to assign one of the briga- 
diers-general to the principal Army of the United States, who shall in 
such case act as Adjutant and Inspector (General and as chief of the 
staff of such Army. . . . 

Sec. 3. That all the other adjutants-general shall have the brevet 
rank and the pay and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry. 

The assistant adjutants-general . . . shall have the brevet rank 

and the pay and emoluments of a major of cavalry. . . . 

Sec. I. That the assistant adjutants-general . . . shall be taken 

from line. The adjutants-general . . . may be taken from the 

line or not, as the President may deem expedient. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 11. That all letters and packets to and from the adjutant and 
inspector general, adjutants-general, . . . which relate to their 

official duties, shall be free from postage. 

May 17, 1815. . . . And the President of the United States has further judged 

proper, that, in addition to the provision for a general staff, which is specifically 
made by the act of Congress, certain officers shall be retained, under the special 
authority given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge, with¬ 
out material injury to the service; and that the following shall be the 

GENERAL STAFF. 


* * * 

One adjutant and inspector general and two adjutant-generals, to be provisionally 
retained. 

* * * 

{General Orders, A. and I. G.’s Office.) 


Act of Ajyril ^4-, 1816 {3 Stats., 297). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff, and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 

That in addition to the act providing for a militarv peace establish¬ 
ment, the provisions of the act of March the third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, for the better organization of the general staff', 
be, and the same are hereby, so far as established, that the general 
staff shall in future consist of one adjutant and iuspector general of 
the Army and one adjutant-general. 


Act of March 2, 1821 {3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

^ * 

Sec. 5. That there shall be one major-general, with two aids de-camp, 
two brigadier-generals, each with one aid-de-camp; and that the ai(£- 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT 


73 


de-canip be taken from the subalterns of the line, and, in addition to 
their other duties, shall perform the duties of assistant adjutant- 
general. 

Sec. 6 . That there shall be one adjutant-general, . . . with the 

rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry, 

* * * 


Aa of March, 4 8tats,, 238). 

AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-Office Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That . . . the Adjutant-General, ... be author¬ 

ized to frank, and to receive letters and packets by post free of post¬ 
age. . . . 

* * * 

Act of July 5, 1838 {6 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the President of the United States shall be, and he is 
hereby, authorized to appoint so many assistant adjutants-general, not 
exceeding two, with the brevet rank, pay, and emoluments of a major, 
and not exceeding four, with the brevet rank, pay, and emoluments of 
a captain of cavalry, as he may deem necessary; and that they shall 
be taken from the line of the Army, and in addition to their own, per¬ 
form the duties of assistant inspectors-general when the circumstances 
of the service may require. 

Sec. 8. That the officers to be taken from the line and transferred 
to the staff, under the last preceding section, shall receive only the pay 
and emoluments attached to their rank in the sbitf, but their transfer 
shall be without prejudice to their rank and promotion in the line, 
according to their said rank and seniority; which promotion shall take 
place according to usage, and in the same manner as if they had not 
thus been transferred. 

* * * 


Act of March 3, 1839 {5 Stats., 352). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act regulating the pay and emoluments of 
brevet officers,” passed April 16, 1818. 

That from and after the passing of this act the act entitled “An 
act regulating the pay and emoluments of brevet officers,” approvt'd 
April sixteenth, eighteen hundred and eighteen, be, and the same shall 
be, so construed as to include the case of the Adjutant-General of the 
United States. 


Act of June 18, 18Jf (9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled “An act to provide for the prosecution of 
the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico,” and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6 . That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized to appoint as many additional assistant adjutant-generals. 


74 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


not exceeding four, as the service may require, who shall be appointed, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in the same manner, 
have the same brevet rank, pay, and emoluments, and be charged with 
the same duties, as those now authorized by law: Provided^ That these 
additional appointments shall continue only so long as the exigencies 
of the service may rendei' necessaiy. 


Act of March ISJff Stats. ^ 18 f). 


AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general offices, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That there shall be added to the Adjutant-General’s Depart¬ 
ment one assistant adjutant-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a lieutenant-colonel of cavaliy, and two assistant adjutants-general, 
with the brevet rank, pay, and emoluments of a captain of cavalry, to 
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, in the same manner and be charged with the same duties 
as those authorized b}^ existing laws. 

* * * 

Sec. 20. That the provisions of the sixth section of the act entitled 
‘^An act respecting the organization of the Army,” etc., approved 
August twenty-third, one thousand eight hundred and fort 3 ^-two, 
which allow additional rations to certain officers of the Army, be, and 
the same are hereby, so extended as to embrace the . . . Adjutant- 

General of the Arny from the date of the act. 

* * * 

Sec. 22. That all the officers appointed . . . under this act 

shall be discharged at the close of the war with Mexico. . . . 


Act of July 19, 181^8 {9 Stats., 2Jf7). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act supplemental to an act entitled ‘An act 
providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and 
the Republic of Mexico,’ ” and for other purposes. 

* * * 

^ Sec. 3. That so much of . . . the act of the third of March, 
eighteen hundred and forty-seven, as requires the discharge at the 
close of the war with Mexico of an assistant adjutant-general, with 
the rank, pay, etc., of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and two assist¬ 
ant adjutants-general, with the brevet rank, pay, etc., of a captain of 
cavalry, as authorized by the second section of the said act of the 
third of March, eighteen hundred and fort 3 ^-seven, ... be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That no vacancy happening 
under the provisions so repealed shall be tilled up until further author • 
ized b 3 ^ law. . . . 


75 


THE ADJUTANT-GEHERAL’s DEPARTMENT. 

Aci of March 1849 {9 Stat>% 351). 

AN ACT to provide for an increase of the medical staff, and for an additional number 
of chaplains of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. . . . that so much of the proviso to the third section of 

the act approved July nineteenth, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, 
as relates to officers of the Adjutant-General’s Department be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed. 


Act of March J, 1851 {9 Stats., 595). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid and disabled 
soldiers of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That . . . the Adjutant-General shall be, ex officio., 

commissioners of the same. 

AugmtSl, 1852 {10-105). Sec. 15. Adjutant-General Roger Jones to be allowed 
the pay, etc., of his commission as Adjutant-General from the date of the reduction 
of the Army in 1821, until March 7, 1825, when he was restored to his rank in the 
staff. 


Act of July 32, 1861 {13 Stats., 368). 


AN ACT to authorize the employment of volunteers to aid in enforcing the laws 
and protecting public property. 


Sec. 3. . . . each division shall have . . . one assistant 

adjutant-general with the rank of major. Each brigade . . . shall have 
. . . one assistant adjutant-general with the rank of captain. . . . 

* -x- * 


Act of August 3, 1861 {13 Stats., 387). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 

-x- -X- * 

Sec. 2. . . . Thathereafterthe Adjutant-General’s Department 

shall consist of the following officers, namely: One adjutant-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; one assistant 
adjutant-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel 
of cavalry; two assistant adjutant-generals, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments each of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; four assistant 
adjutant-generals, with the rank, pay, and emoluments each of a major 
of cavalry; and twelve assistant adjutant-generals, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments each of a captain of cavalry; . . . and to be taken 

from the line of the Army, either ot the volunteers or Regular Army. 


7G LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of July 77, 1862 (12 Stats. ^ 59li). 

AN ACT to define the pay and emoluments of certain officers of the Army, and for 

other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 22. That there shall be added to the Adjutant-General’s Depart¬ 
ment by regular promotion of its present officers, one colonel, two 
lieutenant-colonels, and nine majors; and that the grade of captain in 
said department shall thereafter be abolished, and all vacancies occur¬ 
ring in the grade of major shall be filled by selections from among the 
captains of the Army. 

Act of July 17^ 1862 (12 Stats. 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eight, sev¬ 
enteen hundred and ninety-five, and the act amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That each army corps shall have . . . one assistant 

adjutant-general, . . . who shall bear . . . the rank of lieu¬ 

tenant-colonel, and who shall be assigned from the Army or volunteer 
force by the President. . . . 

* * * 


March 77, 1861/, (13 Stats. ^ 20). 

AN ACT to establish a uniform system of ambulances in the armies of the United 

States. 


* * ' * 

Sec. 11. That it shall be the duty of the commander of the army 
corps to transmit to the Adjutant-General the names and rank of all 
officers and enlisted men detailed for service in the ambulance corps 
of such army corps, stating the organizations from which they may 
have been so detailed; and if such officers and men belong to volunteer 
organizations the Adjutant-General shall thereupon notify the gov¬ 
ernors^ of the several States in which such organizations were raised 
of their detail for such service; and it shall be the duty of the com¬ 
mander of the army corps to report to the Adjutant-General from 
time to time the conduct and behavior of the officers and enlisted men 
of the ambulance corps, and the Adjutant-General shall forward cop¬ 
ies of such reports, so far as they relate to officers and enlisted men of 
volunteer organizations, to the governors of the States in which such 
organizations were raised. 

* * * 

Act of July 28^ 1866 (IJf, Stats., 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 10 . That the Adjutant-General’s Department of the Army shall 

hereafter consist of the officers now authorized by law, viz: One 
Adjutant-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier- 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT. 


77 


general; two assistant adjiitants-general, with the rank, pay, and emol¬ 
uments of colonels of cavalry; four assistant adjutants-general, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry; and 
thirteen assistant adjutants-general, with the rank, pay, and emolu¬ 
ments of majors of cavalry. 

* *. * 

Sec. 23. That the adjutants-general . . . shall hereafter heap- 

pointed b}" selection from the corps to which they belong. 

if- * * 

Act of March 3, 1869 {IS Stats., SIS). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the Adjutant-General’s Depart¬ 
ment. . . . 

* * * 

Resohition. of April 10, 1869 {16 Stats., S3). 

JOINT RESOLUTION concerning vacancies in the Adjutant-General’s Department. 

That the vacancies existing in the Adjutant-General’s Department 
at the time of the passage of the act approved March third, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-nine, ‘‘making appropriations for the support of 
the Army for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 
seventy, and for other purposes,” be, and the same is hereby, exempted 
from the operation of said act. 

June 10, 1872 {17-347). The unfinished business of the Bureau of Refugees, Freed- 
men, etc., was turned over to the Adjutant-General July 1, 1872, who exercised con¬ 
trol until January 1, 1879, when the Bureau was ordered closed and all papers relating 
to payment of bounties, etc., to be turned over to the Paymaster-General. It was 
finally closed in the Adjutant-General’s Office June 30, 1879. 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats., S78). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “ An act making appropriations for the support of 

the Army for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy,” 

approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine. 

That the sixth section of an act entitled “An act making appropria¬ 
tions for the support of the Army for the year ending June thirtieth, 
eighteen hundred and seventy,” approved March third, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty-nine, is so far modified as to authorize and permit the 
President of the United States to nominate, and, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint one assistant adjutant- 
general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a major in the said 
department. 


Act of March 3, 187S {18 Stats., 478). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the Adjutant-General’s Department of the Army. 

That the Adjutant-General’s Department of the Army shall hereafter 
consist of one Adjutant-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments 


78 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


of a brigadier-general; two assistant adjutants-general, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of colonels; four assistant adjutants-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels; and ten 
assistant adjutants-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
majors. 

Sec. 2. That so much of section six of the act entitled “An act 
making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other pur¬ 
poses,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as 
applies to the Adjutant-General’s Department, be, and the same is 
hereby, repealed. 

March 3, 1875 {18-515). Maj. N. H. McLean, late of the Army, to be appointed to 
first vacancy in lowest grade of the Adjutant-General’s Department, or be reinstated 
and retired with rank to which he would have attained at the date of this act. 
[Major McLean was appointed lieutenant-colonel and assistant adjutant-general 
March 18, 1875, to rank from March 3, and was retired March 18, to date from 
March 3.] 


REVISED STATUTES—2ND EDITION—1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of 
* * * 

An Adjutant-General’s Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1128. The Adjutant-General’s Department of the Army shall 
consist of one Adjutant-General, with the rank of brigadier-general; 
two assistant adjutants-general, with the rank of colonel of cavalry; 
four assistant adjutants-general, with the runk of lieutenant-colonel of 
cavalry; and thirteen assistant adjutants-general, with the rank of 
major of cavalry. 

Sec. 1129. All vacancies in the grade of major in the Adjutant- 
General’s Department shall, when tilled, be tilled by selection from 
captains of the Army. 

Sec. 1130. Assistant adjutants-general shall, in addition to their own 
duties, perform those of assistant inspectors-general when the con¬ 
venience of the service requires them to do so." 

* * * 

Sec. 1193. The adjutants-general, . . . shall be appointed by 

selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law, there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the deoartnients of Adiutant- 
General. . . . 

X- -X- -X- 

Sec. 1647. Each division [of militia called into service] shall have 
. . . one assistant adjutant-general, with the rank of major. Each 

brigade . . . shall have . * . . one assistant adjutant-general 

with the rank of captain, 

-X- * * 

Sec. 4815. The . . . Adjutant-General shall constitute a board 

of commissioners for the Soldiers’ Home. 

June 20, 1878 {20-206). Expenses of collection and disbursement of bounty, etc., to 
colored soldiers, to be disbursed under direction of the Adjutant-General. 


79 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 3, 1883 364). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers’ Home, located at Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

Seo. 10. That the hoard of <.*()iinnissloners of the Soldiers’ Home 
shall hereafter consist of . . . the Adjutant-General, . . . 

* * * 

Act of Ftlraary 28, 1887 {21^. Stats., 434). 

AN ACT to effect a rearrangement of grades of office in the Adjutant-General’s De¬ 
partment of the Army. ^ 

That the Adjutant-General’s Department of the Army shall consist 
of one Adjutant-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of brig¬ 
adier-general; four assistant adjutants-general, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of colonel; six assistant adjuntants-general, with the rank, 
pa^G aiid emoluments of lieutenant-colonel; and six assistant adjutants- 
general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of major: Provided, That 
the vacancies in the grade of colonel and lieutenant-colonel created by 
this act shall be filled by the pi’omotion by seniority of the ofiicers 
now in the Adjufiint-General’s Department. 

Act of August 6, 1894 {^8 Stats., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

Adjutant-General’s Department: . . . That there shall 

be no appointment of assistant adjutant-general with the rank of major 
until the number of such ofiicers in that grade shall be reduced below 
four and thereafter the number of such ofiicers in that grade shall be 
fixed at four, and hereafter all appointments to fill vacancies in the 
lowest grade in the Adjutant-General’s, . . . Department, respec¬ 
tively, shall be made from the next lowest grade in the line of the Army. 
* * * 

Act (fAgrrll 22, 1898 (30 Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temi)orarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * , 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall con¬ 
sist of one assistant adjutant-general, . . . who shall have, . . . 

the rankof lieutenant colonel; one assistant adjutant-general, who shall 
have the rank of captain. . . . The staff' of the commander of a 

division shall consist of one assistant adjutant-general, . . . who 

shall have, . . . the rank of major. . . . The staff of the com¬ 
mander of a brigade shall consist of one assistant adjutant-general, 
. . . with the rank of captain. 


80 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of May 18, 1898 {30 Stats., 1^19). 

AN ACT to provide for the increased volume of work in the Adjutant-GeneraFs • 
Department of the Army, due to the calling out of volunteers and the increase of 
the Regular Army. 

That the President is authorized, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to appoint one assistant adjutant-general with the rank 
of colonel, and one assistant adjutant-general with the rank of major: 
Provided, That the vacancy created in the grade of colonel by this act 
shall be filled by the promotion of officers now in the Adjutant-Gen¬ 
eral’s Department according to seniority, and that upon the mustering 
out of the volunteer forces and the reduction of the Regular Army to 
a peace basis no appointments shall be made in the Adjutant-General’s 
Department until the number of officers in each grade in that depart¬ 
ment shall be reduced to the number authorized by the law in force 
prior to the passage of this act. 

J. E., June 29^ 1898 {30-749). Prohibition of purchase of books and periodicals by 
act of March 15, 1898, and limitation, in section 1179, Revised Statutes, of amount to 
be expended not to apply to the Military Information Division of the Adjutant- 
GeneraFs Office. 


Act of March 2, 1899 {30 Slats., 977). 

AN ACT for iiua-easing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

jHirposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of . . . an Adjutant-General’s 

Department, . 

* * •55- 

Sec. 6. That the Adjutant-General’s . . . Department shall 

consist of the number of officers nowin those departments, respec¬ 
tively: Provided, That vacancies in the grade of major occurring in 
either department shall hereafter be filled from captains in the line of 
theArm}^: And provided farther. That all such captains who have 
evinced marked aptitude in the command of troops shall be reported 
by their regimental commanders to the War Department and shall be 
entitled to compete for any such vacancy under such system of exam¬ 
ination as the President shall prescribe. 

•55: * 5fr 

Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen¬ 
ate, officers of the volunteer stall' as follows: 

Three assistant adjutants-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
and six assistant adjutants-general with the rank of major, 

* * * 


Act of Jane 6,1900 {31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Military Academy for the fiscal 
year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the Adjutant-General of the Army shall have the rank 
pay, and allowances of a major-general in the Army of the United 


THE adjutant-general’s DEPARTMENT. 


81 


States, and on his retirement shall receive the retired pay of that rank: 
Provided^ That whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of Adju¬ 
tant-General on the expiration of the service of the present incumbent 
the Adjutant-General shall thereafter have the rank, pay, and allow¬ 
ances of a brigadier-general. 

* * * 

Act of Fehruary 1901 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States, . . shall consist of . . an Adjutant-General’s Depart¬ 

ment, . 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That the Adjutant-Generahs Department shall consist of 
one Adjutant-General with the rank of major-general, and when a 
vacancy shall occur in the office of Adjutant-General on the expira¬ 
tion of the service of the present incumbent, by retirement or other¬ 
wise, the Adjutant-General shall thereafter have the rank and pay of 
a brigadier-general, five assistant adjutants-general with the rank of 
colonel, seven assistant adjutants-general with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and fifteen assistant adjutants-general with the rank of major: 
Provided^ That all vacancies created or caused by this section shall, as 
far as possible, be filled by promotion according to seniority of officei’S 
of the Adjutant-General’s Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding permanent 
appointments in the Adjutant-General’s Department, . . . includ¬ 

ing those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain and 
first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, 
twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted accord¬ 
ing to seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, and 
nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies which 
can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for which the 
officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any 
vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall 
occur, which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section, 
it shall be filled by detail from the line of the Army, and no more per¬ 
manent appointments shall be made in those departments or corps 
after the original vacancies created by this act shall have been filled. 
Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, 
under such system of examination as the President may from time to 
time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in any staff department until they shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
S. Doc. 229-6 



82 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY 01 GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff corps or department is tilled by the appointment of an oflScer 
below the rank now provided b}' law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro¬ 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff' corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided^ That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff' corps or depart¬ 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 2Y. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this 
act, shall be tilled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized foi duty in each staff depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be tilled by officers returning from tours of staff duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at an}^ time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

* * * * 

Act of March 1901 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

Provided.^ That appointments to till original vacancies in the lowest 
grade in the Adjutant-General’s Department, . . . may be made 

from officers of volunteers commissioned since April twenty-tirst, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. . . . 


Ill-THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT. 


83 
















THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT. 


The Inspector-General’s Department was first established under the 
act of iNIarch 3, 1813, with an organization of eight inspectors-general 
and sixteen adjutants-general. 

The office of Inspector-General dates from December 13, 1777, 
although Lieutenant-Colonel de la Balme, a French officer of cavalry, 
was appointed by Congress July 8, 1777, Inspector-General of Cav¬ 
alry; and on August 11 Monsieur du Coudray, a French artillery 
officer, was appointed Inspector-General of Ordnance and Military 
Manufactures. The Continental Congress resolved that two inspectors- 
general be appointed, and Brig. Gen. Thomas Conway was elected, 
but the other was not chosen. Fortunately, for the discipline of the 
Army and the conduct of military operations, the proposed plan of 
administering the inspectorship was not carried out, for its effect 
would have placed the Inspector-General in direct communication with 
Congress and the board of war. Although General Washington did 
not employ Conway as Inspector-General, he still gave heed to the 
duties of an office which ever held a high place in his mind, as on his 
commendation Congress appointed Baron Steuben with the rank of 
major-general. That the services of Baron Steuben had proved of 
immense value to the Army was evidenced by the letter addressed him 
by General Washington on the day (December 23, 1783) he resigned 
his commission and retired to private life: 

. . . “I wish to make use of this last moment of my public life to signify in 

the strongest terms my entire approbation of your conduct, and to express my sense 
of the obligation the public is under to you, for your faithful and meritorious services. 

July 8,1777.—Col. Mottin de la Balme (Inspector-General of Cavalry). 

Aug. 11,1777.—Mons. du Coudray (Inspector-General of Ordnance and Military 
Stores). 

Dec. 13,1777.—Maj. Gen. Thomas Conway, Inspector-General. 

May 5,1778.—Major-General Baron Steuben, Inspector-General. 

Apr. 17,1784.—Maj. William North,^ Inspector. 

July 3,1788.—Mr. John Stagg, Inspector. 

-, 1788.—Lieut. Col. Francis Mentges, Inspector. 

Mar. 10,1792.—Lieut. Henry de Butts, Fourth Infantry (Maryland), Acting Adjutant 
and Inspector-General. 

Apr. 11,1792.—Lieut. Col. Winthorp Sargent,* *'^ Militia (Massachusetts). 

Feb. 23,1793.—Maj. Michael Rudolph, Light Dragoons (Georgia), Adjutant and 
Inspector-General. 

July 18,1793.—Sublegionary Inspector Edward Butler (Pennsylvania), Deputy Adju¬ 
tant and Inspector-General. 

May 13,1794.—Maj. John Mills, Second Sublegion (Massachusetts), Acting Adjutant- 
General and Inspector. 


^On the general disbandment of the Continental Army, Captain North, who had 
been designated as inspector to the troops remaining in service, acted as Adjutant 
and Inspector to October 28, 1787. 

* Colonel Sargent declined the appointment, assigning as a reason that the oflBlce 
was not attended with sufficient rank. 


85 





86 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Feb. 27,1796.—Maj. Jonathan Haskell, Fourth Sublegion (Massachusetts), Acting 
Adjutant-General and Inspector. 

Aug. 1,1796.—Capt. Edward Butler, Fourth Sublegion (Pennsylvania), Acting Adju¬ 
tant-General and Inspector. 

Feb. 27,1797.—-Maj. Thomas II. Cushing, ^ First Infantry (Massachusetts), Inspector 
and Adjutant-General. 

July 18,1798.—Maj. Gen. Alexander Hamilton (New York), Inspector-General. 

Mar. 26,1802.—Maj. Thomas H. Cushing,^ First Infantry (Massachusetts), Adjutant 
and Inspector. 

Apr. 2,1807.—Maj. Abimael Y. Nicoll, of the Artillerists (New Y'ork). 

July 6,1812.—Col. Alexander Smyth, Rifle Regiment, Inspector-General. 

Mar. 12,1813.—Brig. Gen. Zebulon M. Pike'^ (New York), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

May 9,1814.—Brig. Gen. William H. Winder (Maryland), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

Nov. 22,1814.—Brig. Gen. Daniel Parker (Massachusetts), A<ljutant and Inspector- 
General. 

Apr. 29,1816.—Col. John E. Wool (New York). 

Oct. 1,1820.—Col. James Gadsden (South Carolina). 

Nov. 10,1821.—Col.Samuel B. Archer (Virginia). 

Dec. 21,1825.—Col. George Croghan (Kentucky). 

Jan. 8,1849.—Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., Feb. 23, 1847) Sylvester Churchill (Vermont). 

Aug. 9,1861.—Col. (Brig. Gen., Dec. 12, 1878) Randolph B. Marcy (Massachusetts). 

Jan. 2,1881.—Brig. Gen. Delos B. Sackett (New York).- 

Mar. 11,1885.—Brig. Gen. Nelson H. Davis (Massachusetts). 

Sept. 20,1885.—Brig. Gen. Absalom Baird (Pennsylvania). 

Aug. 20,1888.—Brig. Gen. Roger Jones (District of Columbia). 

Jan. 30,1889.—Brig. Gen. Joseph C. Breckinridge (Kentucky). 


^The act of March 3, 1797, permitted the Brigadier-General (General in Chief) to 
select his inspector from the line of the Army. Major Cushing, not having relin- 
guished his rank in the infantry on being appointed inspector, was selected by Gen¬ 
eral Wilkinson, and continued to perform the duties of Inspector and Adjutant until 
May 22, 1798. 

^The act of May 14, 1800, discontinued the office of Inspector-General, and the 
duties of Adjutant and Inspector were performed, under detail, by Major Cushing 
(whoresided in Washington) from June 15, 1800, to April 2, 1807. 

^General Pike was killed, after the capture of York, Upper Canada, by the explo¬ 
sion of a magazine, April 27, 1813. From this time until May 14, 1814, the office 
remained vacant, the act of March 3, 1813, having been construed to the effect that 
there could be but one Adjutant and Inspector General, who must either be an offi¬ 
cer appointed and confirmed to that office or else a brigadier-general especially 
designated by the President to perform the functions. The affairs of the office were 
meanwhile administered by Maj. C. K. Gardner, Assistant Adjutant-General, until 
December 30, 1813, and from that date to May 28, 1814, by Col. J. De B. Walbach, 
who was relieved at that date by Maj. John R. Bell, Assistant Inspector. 




THE INSPECTOH-HENEKAL’S DEPAHTMENT. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

April 18, 1777 .—In the absence of a regular inspector, Congress requested General 
Armstrong to inspect the magazines of provisions under the care of Commissary 
Wharton. 


July 8\ 1777. 

Resolved., That Lieutenant-Colonel Mottin de la Balme be appointed 
inspector-general of the cavalry of the United States of America, with 
the rank and pay of colonel. 

That Mons. Vallenais be appointed an aid to Mons. de la Balme, 
with the rank and pay of a captain of cavalry. 

July 16, 1777. —Messrs. Heyward, J. Adams, and Lovell were appointed a commit¬ 
tee to confer with Mr. du Coudray, and inform him that while Congress can not com¬ 
ply with the agreement he has entered into with Mr. Deane, yet, sensible of the 
services he has rendered the United States and having a favorable opinion of his 
merit and abilities, they will cheerfully give him such rank and appointments as 
shall not be inconsistent with the honor and safety of the States or interfere with 
the great duties they owe to their constituents. 

August 11, 1777. 

Resolved, That Mons. du Coudray be appointed inspector-general of 
ordnance and military manufactories, with the rank of major-general. 

Resolved, That a committee of four be appointed to define the powers 
to be granted to and exercised by Mons. du Coudray. 

The members chosen, Mr. WiLon, Mr. Duane, Mr. Heyward, and 
Mr. S. Adams. 

October 11, 1777 .—Colonel de la Balme resigned. 

December IS, 1777. 

Resolved, As the opinion of this Congress, that it is essential to the 
promotion of discipline in the American Army, and to the reformation 
of the various abuses which prevail in the different departments, that 
an appointment be made of inspectors-general, agreeable to the practice 
of the best disciplined European armies. 

Resolved, That this appointment be conferred on experienced and 
vigilant general officers, who are acquainted with whatever relates to 
the general economy, manoeuvers, and discipline of a well-regulated 
army. 

Resolved, That the duties of these officers be as follows: 

To review, from time to time, the troops, and to see that every 
officer and soldier be instructed in the exercise and manoeuvers which 
may be established by the board of war, that the rules of discipline be 
strictly observed, and that the officers command their soldiers properly 
and do them justice. 


87 



88 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Resolved^ That the inspectors-general, respectively, shall give notice 
to the commanders of regiments of the time which shall be fixed on 
for such reviews, who are to prepare the following returns, models of 
which are previously to be furnished by the inspector, viz: 

A return of clothing. 

A return of arms and accoutrements. 

A return of recruits, with an account of the money laid out for that 
purpose. 

A return of the number and names of the wounded men, distinguish¬ 
ing such as are fit for the corps of invalids and such as are totally unfit 
for service. 

A return of the loss sustained in the regiment by death, desertion, 
or otherwise. 

A return of the pay and rations drawn by each regiment. 

A return of all the officers of each regiment, with observations upon 
the behavior, capacity, and assiduity of every individual. 

All the returns, when signed by the field officers of each regiment, 
are to be carefully scrutinized by the Inspector-General, who, after 
having made and added his remarks upon the satne, is to sign and 
transmit them to Congress. 

Resolved^ That the inspectors-general shall make these reviews in the 
beginning and at the latter end of every campaign, and at such other 
times as the Commander in Chief shall direct, or as they themselves 
shall severall}^ jiRfge proper, or shall receive orders for that purpose 
from the board of war, first giving notice thereof to the Commander in 
Chief, and obtaining his leave for reviewing the said troops. 

Resolved^ That the inspectors-general, respectively, shall make this 
review minutely, man by man, attending to the complaints and repre¬ 
sentations of both soldier and officer, and transmitting to Congress 
what petitions and grievances he shall think worthy of notice; that not 
solely depending upon the accounts and characters of officers as given 
him by the colonels of regiments, the inspectors-general shall examine 
the said officers in person, direct them to command different manoeu¬ 
vres, and take such measures as shall enable him to give an exact 
account to Congress. 

Resolved^ That these reviews when closed be transmitted to Congress 
by the inspector-general making the review, who is to furnish the 
major of the respective regiments with a copy of the same, and to keep 
another for his own government and assistance in proceeding to the 
next review. 

Resolved^ That the inspectors-general shall examine from time to 
time the pay books of the respective regiments, which are to be kept 
in an uniform manner, agreeable to such regulations as may be estab¬ 
lished for that purpose, giving immediate notice to Congress of any 
malversation or mismanagement which he may discover. 

Resolved^ That it be referred to the commissioners of the war office 
to report such further regulations for this office as they shall deem 
calculate'd to extend its utility and to promote the end of its institution. 

Resolved^ That two inspectors-general be now appointed. 

Congress proceeded to the electidn and, the ballots being taken, 
Brigadier T. Conway was elected. 

* * * * * * * 

Resolved^ That another major-general be appointed in the Army of 
the United States. The ballots being taken. Brigadier T. Conway was 
elected. 


THE INSPECTOR-GENEKAL’S DEPARTMENT. 


89 


}[(irch22, 1778 .—“Asa system of easy manoeuvres and exercises is to be intro¬ 
duced, with a view of estal^lishing uniformity in those ])oints throughout the Army, 
the commanding officers of brigades and regiments are desired to discontinue exer¬ 
cising and mananivreing their men by way of instructions, until new regulations shall 
be distributed.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) [This was prepara¬ 
tory to the introduction of Baron Steuben in the character of Inspector-General, and 
the adoption of the new system of tactics proposed by him. General Washington at 
this date was selecting })roper subinspectors.] 

March 28, 1778. “ The Baron Steuben, a lieutenant-general in foreign service and 

a gentleman of great military experience, having obligingly undertaken to exercise 
the office of Inspector-General in the Army, the Commander in Chief, till the 
})leasure of Congress be known, desires he may be respected and obeyed as such, 
and hopes and expects that all officers, of whatsoever rank, will afford him every 
aid in their power in the execution of his otlice. 

‘‘Lieut. Colonels Davies, Brooks, Barber, and Mr. Teriiant are appointed to act as 
subinspectors; the three former retaining their rank and station in the line.” 
{Orders, Genei'al Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

March 29, 1778 .—“The following officers are appointed brigade inspectors, and are 
to be obeyed and respected as such in their several respective brigades: Colonel 
Tup])er, in General Patterson’s brigade; Lieut. Colonel Sprout, in General Glover’s; 
Major Wallace, in Woodford’s; Major Cabell, in Weedon’s; Major Hull, in Learned’s; 
^lajor Fish, in Poor’s; IMajor Muling ? in the late Conway’s; Captain Smith, in Var- 
num’s; Major Brimtield, in Maxwell’s; Major Ryan, in the 1st Pennsylvania; Cap¬ 
tain Inglis, in McIntosh’s; Captain McGowan,2nd Pennsylvania.” {Oi'ders, General 
Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

Ainul 7, ^775’.—“Captain WilliaTu I^ewisis appointed brigade-inspector in General 
Muhlenbei-g’s brigade, and Cai)tain Croghan in General Scott’s.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Valley Forge .) 

April 26, 1778. —“Lieut. Colonel Fleury is to act as subinspector, and will attend 
the Baron Steuben till circumstances will admit of assigning him a division of the 
Army.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

May 5, 1778. 

Besolved, That Congress approve General Washington’s plan for the 
institution of a well-organized inspectorship. 

That Baron Steuben ^ be appointed to the office of Inspector-General, 
with the rank and pay of major-general, his pay to commence from the 
time he joined the Army and entered into the service of the United 
States. 

That there be two ranks of inspectors under the direction of the 
Inspector-General, the first to superintend two or more brigades and 
the other to be charged with the inspection of onh^ one brigade. 

^ Frederick William Augustus Steuben was a distinguished officer in the Prussian 
armies. He reached America December 1, 1777, and served as a volunteer until his 
appointment as Inspector-General, which was mainly secured by Washington’s influ¬ 
ence. No foreign officer rendered more important service to America. He had given 
up an income, offices, and emoluments far greater than those he could hope for in 
America, and from pure love of freedom entered as a volunteer, the service of the 
United States, in which he died November 28, 1795. 

“ I have seen the Baron and his assistants seven long hours inspecting a brigade of 
three small regiments. Every man not present must be accounted for; if in camp, 
sick or well, they were produced or visited; every musket handled and searched; 
cartridge boxes opened, even the flints and cartridges counted. Knapsacks unslung 
and every article of clothing spread on the soldier’s blanket, and tested by his little 
book, whether what he had received from the United States within the year was 
there; if not, to be accounted for. Hospitals, stores, laboratories, every place and 
every thing was open to inspection and inspected, and what officer’s mind was at ease 
if losses or expenditures could not, on the day of searching, be fully and fairly 
accounted for? The inspections were every month, and wonderful was the effect, 
not only with regard to economy, but in creating a spirit of emulation between dif¬ 
ferent corps. I have known the subalterns of a regiment appropriate one of their 
two rations to the bettering the appearance of their men, but this was at a later period 
of the war, when supplies and payments were more ample and more regular.” 
{Wdliam Forth, in Kappas Life of Steuben.^ 






90 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 


That the ofheers appointed inspectors receive, in addition to the pay 
which they derive from their ranks, 30 dollars a month, and that the 
brigade inspectors receive, in addition to their pa}^, 20 dollars a month. 

That General Washington be authorized to appoint such persons to 
be inspectors and brigade inspectors for the main Army as he shall 
think best qualified to execute the several duties of those offices. 

May 9, 1778 .—“Congress have been pleased to appoint Baron Steuben Inspector- 
General with the rank of major-general, and the Commander in Chief, being invested 
with powers to appoint the inspectors and brigade inspectors, continues in office 
those who have already been nominated and appointed,” {(h'ders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Valley Forge.) [July 2, 1778, Baron Steuben was given the temporary com¬ 
mand of Woodford’s, Scott’s, and the North Carolina Iwigades. July 22 General 
Washington directed him to resume his office of Inspector-General and tendered 
him his thanks for conducting the right wing of the Army from Brunswick to 
Wright’s Mills.] 

May U, 1778.. 


ResoUed^ That it is the interest of the United States to employ 
Mons. de la Neuville^ [sr.] as inspector of the Army under the com¬ 
mand of Major-General Gates. 

* * * 

Resolved^ That Mr. de la Neuville’s pay as inspector be 105 dollars 
per month and six rations a day, his pay and rations to commence from 
the time of his entering the service of the United States. 

Resolved^ That Mr. de la Neuville be informed that Congress will 
be disposed, after an experience of his services as an inspector to the 
army under General Gates, for the space of three months, to confer 
on him such rank as his merits may justly entitle him to. 

May 1778. 

Resolved^ That the Quartermaster-General be directed to furnish 
Baron Steuben with two good horses for his use. 

June 4, 1778 .—“On the march, Lieut. Colonel Fleury will be attached to General 
Lee’s division; Lieut. Colonel Davies to General Stirling’s; Lieut. Colonel Barber to 
General Mifflin’s; Major Ternant to General de La Fayette’s; Lieut. Colonel Brooks 
to General de Kalb’s; and, as they will not be employed on the march in exercising 
or maneuvering the troops, they are to fill the office of adjutant-general, each in his 
respective division.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

June 15, 1778 .—“Till the duties of the office of Inspector-General shall l)e defined 
and fixed by Congress, the Commander in Chief thinks proper to establish the fol¬ 
lowing plan: 

The functions of it are to comprehend the instituting a system of rules and regu¬ 
lations for the exercise of the troops in the manual and maneuvers; for their forma¬ 
tion for the purposes of exercise on guard and on detachments, and for camp and 


^The appointment of Mr. de la Neuville, sr., was predicated on the following 
reasons: Recommended by Baron de Wormser, lieutenant-general in the French 
service, as an officer of great zeal, activity, and knowledge; recommended to 
General Washington by the Marquis de Bonilli, governor of Martinico, as an intel¬ 
ligent officer, not only acquainted with the theory but the practice of war, having 
served in several campaigns in Germany; by Mr.Alerlet, quartermaster-general of 
the French army, and further by the favorable testimonies of the Marquis de 
La Fayette, and Major-General Conway. October 14, 1778, Mr. de la Neuville, sr., 
was granted a brevet commission of brigadier-general, to date August 14, 1778, and 
on the 4th of December following Congress directed that a certificate be given him 
by the President, in the words following: “Mr. de la Neuville, having served with 
fidelity and reputation in the Army of the United States, in testimony of his merit, 
a brevet commission of brigadier has been granted him by Congress, and, on his 
request, he is permitted to leave the service of these States and return to France.” 







THE INSPECTOR-GENEKAl’s DEPARTMENT. 


91 


garrison duty, by ydiich is to be understood whatever relates to the service of guards, 
the ordinary routine of duty in and the internal policy of camps and garrisons; in 
the execution of which rules and regulations the I nspector-General and his assistants 
shall be employed as hereafter si)ecitied. 

All rules and regulations shall first be approved and authorized by the Commander 
in Chief, and either published in general orders or otherwise communicated through 
the Adjutant-General, from whom the division and brigade inspectors will receive 
them and communicate them to the major-generals and brigadiers, and to their 
respective divisions and brigades. 

. . . The division and brigade inspectors will assist in their execution [mili¬ 

tary maneuvers and exercises] under the immediate orders of the major-generals, 
brigadiers, and colonels commanding. 

... Grand maneuvers will be occasionally executed by the Inspector-( 7 eneraI, 
with ])articular brigades or with detachments from the line. ... The Inspector- 
Generid will occasionally attend the troops while exercising. Ilis directions relative 
to their exercise agreeably to the rules laid down are to be observed by every otlicer 
of inferior rank who may command. When any new maneuver is to be introduced, 
it is, in the first instance, to be performed by the division or brigade inspector, after 
which the brigadier or colonel will take the command. Ea(;h division inspector shall 
attend his Jiiajor-general when he is of the day, and under his directions assist the 
field officers of the day in examining whether the duty of the guards is performed 
according to rule. Each brigade inspector shall likewise attend his brigadier when 
he is of the day, for the same purpose. On the daily parade of the guard, the 
Inspector-General, if present, or the subinspector of the day, is to exercise the 
parade under the orders of the major-general of the day. The*division and brigade 
inspectors are immediately to furnish their respective major and brigadier generals 
with all the regulations which have been heretofore made.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Valleif Forqe.) 

June 16, 1778. —“Captain Archibald Anderson, of the 2nd Maryland regiment, is 
appointed brigade inspector to the 2nd Maryland brigade.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Valley Forye.) 


July W, 1778. 

The Board of War further reported: ^ 

That Moiis. Noirmont de la Neuville [ jr.] since the month of Decem¬ 
ber has acted as aid-de-camp to Major-General Conway, and since the 

^ Mr. de la Neuville, aid-de-camp to the Marquis de La Fayette, was promoted to 
lieutenant-colonel by brevet; February 4, 1779, Congress denied his petition for a 
brevet commission of lieutenant-colonel, although the Marquis had addressed a letter 
to Congress in his favor on December 22, 1778; February 10,1779, at his request, Mr. 
Noirmont de la Neuville was authorized to return to France; April f, 1779, the Board 
of War having reported that Mr. Noirmont de la Neuville is a brevet major, and as 
as such entitled to neither the pay nor subsistence allowed to a major, Congress 
authorized him to repair to the Southern Army under General Lincoln, and granted 
him the pay and subsistence of a major during the ensuing campaign. October 18, 
1779, Congress resolved “That Major de la Neuville, who has served two campaigns 
in the American Army, and has obtained very honorable testimonials of his merit, 
valor, and services in the several capacities in which he has been employed, be 
appointed a lieutenant-colonel by brevet in the Army of the United States. That 
Lieutenant-Colonel Noirmont de la Neuville have leave to return to France.” Octo¬ 
ber 21, 1779, the Board of War having represented that Mons. Noirmont de la Neu¬ 
ville had represented his uneasiness lest Ids not being gratified with the rank and 
command of a lieutenant-colonel should create disagreeable comparisons between the 
supposed ideas entertained by Congress of his merit and that of those enjoying such 
command. Congress resolved: “That Congress entertain a very favorable opinion of 
the personal merit and military character of Mons. Noirmont de la Neuville, which 
he has evidenced on every occasion presenting itself to him during his service in 
America; but a re-formation of the Army having lately taken place, which renders it 
inconsistent with the arrangement as now settled to grant commands in the line to 
gentlemen under Mr. Noirmont’s circumstances, has prevented his having a commis¬ 
sion of the same nature with some others, though his merit and services would other¬ 
wise entitle him thereto.” [As the brevet of lieutenant-colonel had already been 
conferred upon IMr. de Neuville by the resolve of October 27, 1778, the denial of his 
petition for promotion must have been because, as seemingly indicated in the resolve 
of October 21, 1779, he sought a commission of that grade in the line.] 




92 LEGISLATIVE HTSTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

appointment of his brother as inspector to the Northern Army has dis¬ 
charged the duties of deputy inspector with uncommon assiduit}^ and 
much satisfaction to the officers and men of the Northern Army; 
whereupon, 

Besolved, That Mons. Noirmont de la Neuville have the rank of a 
major by brevet in the American Army. 

September 25, 1778. 

Eesolved, That Mr. JohnTernant^ be appointed a lieutenant-colonel 
in the service of the United States, and be ordered to repair to South 
Carolina forthwith, to perform the duties of inspector to the troops in 
the service of these States in South Carolina and Georgia; that he 
report his proceedings as inspector, from time to time, to the board 
of war and Inspector-General, conforming himself to such regulations 
as are or shall be established b}^ Congress for the Inspector-General’s 
Department; and, until he shall be duly notified of the plan of the 
department being arranged and confirmed by Congress, that he govern 
himself as near as may be Iw the rules and practice pursued b}^ Baron 
Steuben, during his having executed the office of inspector-general 
with the grand army, procuring the approbation and authority of the 
officer commanding the troops of the United States in the said States 
of South Carolina and Georgia, in all matters relative to the discipline 
of the troops and the police of the camps, garrisons, or quarters, 
previous to their being put in practice by him as inspector. 

Resolved, That Mr. Ternant be allowed the pay and subsistence of a 
lieutenant-colonel from the 26th of March last. 


Rbruary 18, 1779. 

’ Resolved, That there be an Inspector-General to the armies of the 
United States, with the rank of major-general, who, in all future 
appointments, shall be taken from the line of major-generals; 

That the duty of the Inspector-General shall principally consist in 
forming a system of regulations, for the exercise of the troops in the 
manual evolutions and manoeuvres, for the service of guards and 
detachments, and for camp and garrison duty; 

That the Inspector-Genei'al and his assistants shall review the troops 
at such times and places, and receive such returns for that purpose, as 
the Commander in Chief or commanding officer in a detachment shall 
direct; at which reviews he or they shall inspect the number and con¬ 
dition of the men, their discipline and exercise, the state of their arms, 
accouterments, and clothes; observing what of these articles have been 
lost or spoiled since the last review, and, as nearly as possible, by 
what means; reporting the same, with the deficiencies and neglects, 
to the Commander in Chief, or the commanding officer of a detach¬ 
ment, and to the board of war; 

That all new manoeuvres shall be introduced by the Inspector-Gen¬ 
eral, and all old ones performed according to the established princi¬ 
ples, under his superintendency; but he shall not introduce or practice 

^ Lieutenant-Colonel Ternant having had two riding horses impressed by the State 
of South Carolina during the siege of Charleston, Congress, October 16, 1780, ordered 
the quartermaster-general to furnish him with two good horses. 



THE inspector-general’s DEPARTMENT. 


93 


any regulations relative to the objects of his department, sa^e such as 
are made and established in manner following, all regulations whatso¬ 
ever to be finally approved and established by Congress. But the 
exigence of the service requiring it, temporary ones may, from time 
to time, be introduced by the Inspector-General with the approbation 
of the Commander in Chief. These regulations to be communicated to 
the Ariny throiigh the Adjutant-General, and to be transmitted to the 
board of war with all convenient despatch, that, after being examined 
and reported by them to Congress, they may be rejected, altered, 
amended, or confirmed, as Congress shall deem proper; 

That there be as many subinspectors as the Commander in Chief or 
commanding ofilcer in a detachment shall, on consideration of the 
strength and situation of the Army, from time to time, deem neces¬ 
sary, to be taken from the line of lieutenant-colonels, and to receive 
their instructions relative to the department from the Inspector- 
General; 

That there be one brigade inspector to each brigade, who shall be 
one of the majors in the brigade; and that the office of brigade inspector 
shall in future be annexed to that of major of brigade. He shall 
accordingly keep a roster of the battalions of his brigade, regulate all 
the details and take care of the formation and march of all guards, 
detachments, &c., from the brigade. He is to receive the general 
orders and communicate them to the commanding officers of the bri¬ 
gades and regiments, and, through the adjutants, to all the officers of the 
brigade. He is, so far as concerns his brigade, to inspect the police 
of the camp, the discipline and order of the service. In time of action 
he is to assist in executing the necessary manoeuvres of the brigade, 
according to the orders of the brigadier or ofticer commanding. He is 
to do no duty in the line; 

That all the officers of the inspectorship having appointments in the 
line shall retain their rights of command, succession, and promotion 
in the same manner as if they had not assumed the office. But as the 
duties of this department are sufficient to employ their whole time, 
they are to suspend the exercise of their respective commands, except 
on particular occasions, when the Commander in Chief or commanding 
officer in a detachment may deem it necessary to invest them with com¬ 
mand. They are to be exempted from all common camp and garrison 
duty, that they may attend the more carefully to those of the inspec¬ 
tion; and in time of action they are to be employed in assisting in the 
execution of the field manoeuvres; 

That the Inspector-General, so far as relates to the inspector of the 
Army, be subject to the orders of Congress, the board of war, and the 
Commander in Chief only; but the subinspectors shall also be subject 
to the officers commanding the divisions and brigades to which they 
are attached, on the principles herein established; 

That there be allowed to the Inspector-General, in consideration of 
the extraordinary expenses which attend the execution of his office, 
8d dollars per month, in addition to the pay and rations of a major- 
general, heretofore provided. 

March 29, 1779 .—Baron Steuben having prepared a system of regulations for the 
infantry, which was highly commended by both General Washington and the Board 
of War, Congress adopted the system of tactics and ordered its publication and distri¬ 
bution to the Army. 


94 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


• April 5, 1779. 

Resolved., That Baron Steuben, Iirspector-General, be informed by 
the President that Congress entertain a high sense of his merit, dis- 
pla 3 ^ed in a variety of instances, but especially in the system of mili¬ 
tary order and discipline formed and presented b}^ him to Congress. 

Mayl3,1779.— 'M 2 i]or Cabell is appointed . . . inspector to General Muh¬ 

lenberg’s brigade, and Major Croghan to General Woodford’s.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Middlehrook.) 

May 26,1779 .—‘ ‘ Lieutenant-Colonel Regnier is appointed a subinspector. ’ ’ ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, Middlehrook .) 

June 12, ^775.—“Lieutenant-Colonel Harmar is appointed subinspector to the 
Pennsylvania Division.” {Orders, General Headquarters^ Synithls Tavern.) 

June 21, 1779 .—“Colonel Davies, as eldest subinspector, will do the duty of Adju¬ 
tant-General during said time [temporary absence of the Adjutant-General with the 
Commander in Chief].” {Orders, General Headquarters, Smith’s Tavern.) 

June m, 1779. 

Resolved., That majors, in consideration of their extra dut 3 % acting 
as brigade inspectors . . . receive 44 dollars per month, in addi¬ 

tion to their regimental pay. 

* * -X- 

Resolved, That the Adjutant-General for the time being be also 
Assistant Inspector-General. 

June24,1779 .—‘ ‘ Colonel Williams, of the Maryland line, is appointed subinspector. ’ ’ 
( Orders. General Headquarters, New Windsor.) 

July 1, 1779 .—“ Henry McCormick, esq,, late brigade major to the 1st Pennsylvania 
Brigade, is appointed to do the duties of . . . brigade inspector to the light 

corps under Brigadier-General Wayne.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New 
Windsor .) 

Jtdy 6, 1779. 

Resolved, That, in consideration of their extra duties and service, the 
officers m the arm 3 ^ of these States serving as sub and brigade inspect¬ 
ors be allowed, the former three rations a day and forage for three 
horses, and the latter two rations a day and forage for two horses, m 
lieu of all former rations and forage, both as officers in the line and as 
inspectors; their subsistence money as officers in the line to remain as 
heretofore. 

July 11,1779 .—“ Lieutenant-Colonel Grosvenor.of the Connecticut line,is appointed 
subinspector.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New Windsor.) 

July 26, 1779 .—Congress voted a silver medal to Lieutenant-Colonel Fleury for 
distinguished gallantry in the assault of the enemy’s works at Stoney Point. 

August 11, 1779 .—“Lieutenant-Colonel Sprout is appointed subinspector in the 
Army.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Moore’s House.) 

August 23, 1779. 

Ordered, That Major Noirmont de la Neuvillc l)c allowed the pay 
and subsistence of a major while he shall continue a volunteer with 
the Army. 

September 27, 1779 .—Colonel Fleury was granted leave of absence for nine months. 

December 17, 1779 .—“Lieutenant-Colonel Barber is to do the duty of subinspector 
in Major-General Lord Stirling’s division, and Lieutenant-Colonel Regnier in the 
division composed of Clinton’s and Stark’s brigades. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, 

Morristown.) 


THE inspector-general’s DEPARTMENT. 


95 


December 24 ^ 1779 .—“Major Church, of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment, is appointed 
brigade . . . inspector to General Hand’s brigade.” {Orders, General Head¬ 

quarters, Morristoum.) 

January 1, “Captain Brice, of the 3d Maryland Regiment, is appointed 

brigade . . . inspector of the 1st Maryland Brigade till further orders.” 

( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

January 12^ 1780. 

Resolved^ That Mr. Galvan receive the commission of major in the 
Arm}" of the United States, and be employed in the inspectorship, as 
the Commander in Chief shall direct. 

* * * 

Resolved^ That in future the business of mustering the troops be 
performed by the inspectors of the Army, in such manner and under 
such regulations as the Commander in Chief shall direct, who is hereby 
authorized to make the arrangements respecting the same to Congress. 

January 26,1780 .—“Captain William Van Lear, of the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment, 
having done the duty of . . . brigade inspector of the 2nd Pennsylvania Brigade 

from the 12th day of December last, is appointed brigade . . . inspector of the 

same till further orders.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristoum.) 

July 6, 1780. —“Lt. Col. Barber is requested to undertake the subinspectorship of 
Hand’s, Maxwell’s, and Stark’s brigades.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, Pracaness .) 

July 15, 1780. 

Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a sepa¬ 
rate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many bag¬ 
gage wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to wit: 

* * * 

Inspector-General, for his baggage according to his rank, and for 
his papers, etc., according as the service may require or Com¬ 
mander in Chief may direct. 1 bathorse. 

Subinspector. 1 two-horse wagon. 

Brigade inspector. 1 two-horse wagon. 

* * * 

Resolved, That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bathorses by these regulations there be issued ... as many 
rations as the service shall require. 

. . . ; Inspector-General agreeable to his rank; subinspector, 

in addition to what he draws in the line, one; . . . 

August 3, Major Pettingill, of the 9th Massachusetts Regiment, is appointed 

brigade inspector to the 4th Massachusetts Brigade from the 25th of July last. ’ ’ 

“Capt. Ashley, of the 1st Massachusetts Regt. (entitled to a majority), is appointed 
brigade inspector pro tern, to the 2nd Massachusetts Brigade.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Peekskill.) 

August 5, 1780.—'lA. Col. Smith is appointed inspector and will consider the light 
infantry in his department.” 

“Major Rice is appointed inspector to Stark’s brigade.” 

“Major Scott, as oldest brigade inspector in General McDougall’s division, will do 
the duty of inspector to the division.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, Peekskill .) 

August 8, 775^?.—“Capt. Moses White, of Colonel Hazen’s Regt., is appointed tc do 
the duty of brigade inspector in General Poor’s brigade till further orders, vice 
Major Scott, indisposed.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Orangetown.) 

August 29, 77<?^?.—“From the deficiency of field officers in the Jersey brigade, and 
more particularly in the regiment to which Lt. Col. Barber belongs, he is permitted 
for the present to decline the duties of inspector and confine himself to those of his 





96 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


regiment. Major Fish will in the meantime perform the duties of division inspector.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Tean Neck .) 

September 8, 1780. —“Major Rosekrans will do the duty of brigade inspector to 
Clinton’s Brigade during Major Fish’s absence.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Steenrapia.) 

September 16, 1780. —“Major James Moore is appointed inspector to the 1st Penn¬ 
sylvania Brigade from the 21st of July last.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Steen¬ 
rapia. ) 

Septemhem ^5, 1780. 

PLAN OF THE INSPECTING AND MUSTERING DEPARTMENT. 

Whereas the institution of this department hath been found of great 
utility to the armies of these United States, and experience hath shown 
that it may be rendered still more useful by anj^ extension of its powers 
and objects: Therefore 

Resolved., That the former establishment, by a resolution of the 18th 
of February, 1779, and all subsequent resolutions relative thereto, be 
repealed, and the department hereafter have the following form, pow¬ 
ers, and privileges: 

There shall be an inspector-general with the main army of the United 
States, to be appointed by Congress, who shall be allowed two secre¬ 
taries, in addition to the aids he is allowed in the line of the Army, to 
be taken from the line of captains and subalterns, who shall receive, in 
.addition to their pay, 6 dollars per month. 

There shall be one assistant inspector-general with the main army, 
who shall be adjutant-general for the time being, and shall receive, in 
addition to his pay, |10 per month; and one to every separate army, 
when consisting of two or more divisions, who shall be the deputy 
adjutant-general, and shall receive, in addition to his pay, 8 dollars 
per month. 

There shall be one inspector to each division of the Arm}^ of the United 
States—one to the corps of cavalry and one to the corps of artillery— 
to be taken, when the service will admit, from the line of colonels and 
lieutenant-colonels, who shall be allowed, in addition to their paj^ 7i 
dollars per month and forage for three horses, including what they 
are entitled to in the line of the Army, and one extra ration of provi¬ 
sion, when the state of the magazine will admit. 

There shall be one subinspector to every brigade in the Army of the 
United State, one to the corps of cavalry and one to the corps of artil¬ 
lery, if thought necessary by the Commander in Chief or commanding- 
officer of a separate army, to be taken from the line of majors in the 
brigade, when the service will admit, who shall be allowed, in addition 
to their pay, 5 dollars per month, and one extra ration, when the state 
of the magazines will admit. 

The Commander in Chief and commanding officer of a separate army 
are hereby empowered to appoint inspectors and subinspectors to the 
militia, while in active service, agreeable to the foregoing plan, who 
shall have the same powers, privileges, and emoluments as those serv¬ 
ing with the Continental Army. 

It shall be the duty of the Inspector-General to frame a system of 
regulations for the exercise and discipline of the troops in the man¬ 
ual, evolutions, and manoeuvres, for the service of guards and detach¬ 
ments, and for all camp and garrison duty, and if approved of by the 
Commander in Chief and ratified by Congress, such regulations shall 
be enforced by the orders of the Commander in Chief throug-hout the 
Army. 


THE INSPECTOR-GENEEAL’s DEPARTMENT. 


97 


The assistant inspectors-general shall assist in the general duties of 
the Department, agreeable to the directions they shall receive from 
the Inspector-General (through the order of the Commander in Chief), 
and when the inspector is not present shall have chief direction of the 
same, agreeable to the orders thev may receive as aforesaid; and they 
shall nevertheless continue to perform their duties of adjutant and 
deputy adjutant-general. 

The inspectors shall attend to the execution of the regulations 
established for the army in their respective divisions, and in such 
garrisons as the}" may be ordered by the Inspector-General or the 
assistant inspector-general, at all times performing the duties of adju¬ 
tant-general to the same; and when a detachment of more than one 
division is sent from the Army the eldest inspector of the marching 
troops shall act as adjutant-general to the detachment. 

The subinspectors shall do the duty of majors of brigade to the bri¬ 
gades to which they belong, and attend to the execution of the regula¬ 
tions established for the Army in their respective brigades and such 
garrisons, detachments, and independent corps as they shall be ordered 
by the Inspector-General or assistant inspector-general with a separate 
army. 

The Inspector-General and the assistant inspector-general shall review 
and muster the troops in service once every month, at which review 
he or they shall inspect the number and condition of the men, their 
discipline, the state of their clothes, arms, accoutrements, and camp 
equipage; the number of rations they have drawn since the last review, 
reporting such soldiers and recruits as are unfit for service to the 
major-general or commander of the division, the brigadier or com¬ 
mander of a regiment detached from the division or brigade to which 
such disabled soldier may belong, to be by them, or either of them, 
discharged or transferred to the corps of invalids if, on examination of 
the surgeon of the regiment, they shall be found unfit for further 
service in the field. But no such soldier shall be deemed legally dis¬ 
charged or transferred except his discharge or transference is signed 
by the major-general, brigadier, or commandant as aforesaid, and a 
certificate of his inability, specifying the nature of it, signed by the 
surgeon, is annexed thereto, noting at the same time all alterations 
that have happened since the last review or muster and, as far as pos¬ 
sible, in what manner, reporting them with the deficiencies, neglects, 
and abuses to the Commander in Chief or commanding officer present 
and the board of war. 

At every muster three rolls shall be made out by the commanding 
officer of each troop or company, signed and sworn to by him, one of 
which rolls shall be returned to him certified by the mustering officer; 
one shall be retained by the mustering officer; the other shall be certi¬ 
fied and delivered to the regimental paymaster, to be affixed to the 
pay rolls. 

Each brigade shall be mustered by its subinspector under the super¬ 
intendency of the inspector of the division, who shall be responsible, 
with the subinspector, for the exactness and fidelity of the musters; 
and in like manner all garrisons, independent corps, and detachments 
shall be mustered by such inspector or subinspectors as the Inspector- 
General, or assistant inspector-general with a separate army, shall order. 

The subinspectors shall deliver an abstract of all such musters, 
regimentally digested, to the inspector of the division, who shall digest 

S. Doc. 229-7 


98 LEGISLATIVE HI8T0EY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

them into division abstracts, in the same form, and transmit them to the 
assistant inspectors-general, to be by them transmitted to the Inspector- 
General, and in a separate army to the commanding officer. 

The Inspector-General shall transmit, once every month, a copy of 
the abstracts of the musters of the whole Army to the Commander in 
Chief, and another to the board of war. 

No commanding officer of a regiment shall muster the regiment he 
commands, but another inspector shall be ordered to do that duty by the 
Inspector-General. . 

The assistant inspector in a separate army shall do the same duties 
in that army as the Inspector-General doth in the main army, respect¬ 
ing the musters, according to the directions he shall receive and orders 
of the commanding officer. 

The commissary of issues shall be obliged to deliver to the Inspector- 
General, and assistant inspector with a separate army, an abstract by 
brigades of the rations actually issued, and of all issues to all separate 
corps, garrisons, and detachments. 

All muster rolls shall be sworn to before a general officer, or com¬ 
mandant of a separate post or detachment, who are hereby empowered 
to administer the oath, and certify it on each muster roll, in the words 
following, to wit: 

I, A B, do swear that this muster roll is a true state of the com¬ 
pany under my command, without fraud to the United States or to 
any individual, according to the best of my knowledge. 

“A B, capt., lieut., ensign, or command’!. 

‘‘ Sworn before me this-day of-, 17—.” 

The mustering officers are empowered and directed to require from 
all the officers whose troops are mustered all papers and vouchers 
relative to their enlistments and musters. 

The inspectors shall keep accounts with the officers commanding 
regiments of all arms and accoutrements delivered their regiments 
and re-turned in by them. No arms or accoutrements shall be delivered 
without an order from the inspector of the division, to whom returns 
for arms and accoutrements wanted shall be made, in the form directed 
in the resolution for the order and discipline of the troops of these 
United States. 

All officers of the inspectorship shall retain their rights of command 
and promotion in the same manner as if they had not assumed the 
office. They are to suspend the exercise of their respective commands 
except when they happen to be the superior in the division brigade 
or regiment to which they belong, or when they are appointed to 
execute any particular service by the Commander in Chief, or com¬ 
manding officer of a separate army; and are exempt from all common 
camp and garrison duty that they may attend to that of the inspect¬ 
ing, as well in the time of action as at other times. 

The Inspector-General, as often as the Commander in Chief shall 
think fit to order, shall visit every part of the Army, and review the 
same, to see that uniformity prevails throughout the armies of these 
United States. 

The Inspector-General shall keep books in which the returns, &c., 
passing through his office shall be registered. He shall be charged 
with collecting, in one or more volumes, all the resolves of Congress 
and regulations of the board of war relative to the Army. 

The travelling and other incidental expenses of the execution of the 
business of the office shall be settled by the auditors with the Army, 



THE INSPECTOR-GENEEAL’s DEPARTMENT. 


99 


upon such principles as shall be established by the Commander in Chief, 
and paid out of the military chest. 

The Quartermaster-General shall furnish all necessary books, paper, 
&c., for the Department. 

Each inspector shall be allowed, when the circumstances of the Army 
will permit, a marquee and common tent; each subinspector a horse¬ 
man’s and common tent, if not provided for as officers in the line. 

All the regulations respecting the objects of this Department shall be 
finally approved and established by Congress; but, the exigency of the 
service requiring it, temporary ones may from time to time be intro¬ 
duced by the Inspector-General, with the approbation of the Com¬ 
mander in Chief, and transmitted to the board of war within one 
month after their introduction, that, being examined and reported to 
Congress by them, they may be rejected, altered, amended, or con¬ 
firmed, as Congress shall deem proper. 

Resolved^ That Baron Steuben be, and hereby is, continued Inspector- 
General of the armies of these United States, and vested with power 
to appoint all officers necessary to carry the aforegoing plan into 
execution, they being first approved of by the Commander in Chief. 

Resolved^ That the assistant inspector be allowed 400 dollars per 
month, of the old emission, in addition to his pay as Adjutant-General, 
from the 1st day of Februaiy last to the 1st day of October next. The 
inspectors shall be allowed, from the 1st day of February last to the 
1st day of October, 300 dollars per month, of the old emission, and 
the subinspectors shall be allowed 200 dollars per month, of the old 
emission, from the first day of February aforesaid to the first day of 
October next, in addition to the pay and subsistence to which they are 
entitled by their respective ranks. 

November 9, 1780. —“Major Oliver, inspector to the 1st Massachusetts Brigade, 
having obtained leave of absence. Captain Sewall, of the 12th Massachusetts Regt., is 
appointed to do that duty in his absence. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, Totowa.) 

N(yveinher 11, 1780. —“Captain Converse is to do the duty of brigade inspector to 
the 2nd Connecticut Brigade in the absence of Major Woodbridge.” {Orders, Gen¬ 
eral Headquarters, Totowa .) 


Novemher ^<9, T780. 

Ordered^ That . . . the Inspector-General ... be supplied 

with the journals of Congress. . . . 

December 1780. 

Resolved^ That instead of the additional pay allowed to officers in 
the Inspector’s Department, by the resolution of Congress of the 25th 
of September last, the following sums be allowed, viz: 

To the Adjutant-General, as assistant inspector, 35 dollars per month; 

To an assistant inspector in a separate army, 30 dollars per month; 

To a lieutenant-colonel, as inspector of a division, 25 dollars per 
month; 

To a major, as inspector of a brigade, 25 dollars per month. 

January i, 1781. 

A motion was made by Mr. Sullivan, seconded by Mr. Varnum, 

That Lieutenant-Colonel William Smith be continued as subin- 


100 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


spector, with his present rank in the Army of the United States, to be 
employed as the Commander in Chief shall direct; 

On which the yeas and naj^s were required; and it was resolved in 
the affirmative. 

May 2, 1781. —Colonel Fleury was authorized to remain on furlough until further 
orders. 

,Tuly 13, 1781. —“Captain Timothy Remick, of the First Massachusetts Regt., is 
appointed to do the duty of inspector of the First Massachusetts Brigade.” 

‘ ‘ Captain Seth Drew, of the Second Massachusetts Regt., is appointed to do the 
duty of inspector to the Second Massachusetts Brigade. ” 

“Captain Caleb Robinson, of the Second New Hampshire Regt., is appointed to 
do the duty of inspector to General Stark’s brigade, vice Major Scott, resigned that 
office.” {Orders, General Headquarters, near Dobbs Ferry.) 

Jidy 14 , 1781. —“Captain Converse, of the Second Connecticut Regt., is appointed 
to do the duty of inspector to the Second Connecticut Brigade. ’ ’ 

“Captain Warner, of the First Connecticut Regt., is appointed to do the duty 
of inspector to the First Connecticut Brigade.” {Orders, General Headquarters, near 
Dobbs Ferry.) 

August 13,1781. —“Captain Bleeker, of the First New York Regiment, is'appointed 
to do the duty of inspector to the light troops under the command of Colonel Scam- 
mell.” {Orders, General Headquarters \gioplace given'].) 

September 6, 1781. —“Major Platt is appointed division inspector to the division 
commanded by Major-General Lincoln. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, Head of Elk.) 

September 29, 1781. —“Major William Barber is appointed inspector to the division 
commanded by Major-General the Marquis de la Fayette.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Secretary's Quarter.) 

October 6, 1781. —“The division inspectors are to mount as majors of the trenches, 
with their respective major-generals.” 

“Major Galvan is appointed division inspector to the division commanded by the 
major-general, the Baron de Steuben.” {Orders, General Headquarters, before York.) 

October 31, 1781. — ‘ ‘ Captaiq, John Bankson, of the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, 
is appointed inspector pro tern, to the troops under the orders of Major-General St. 
Claii*.” {Orders, General Headquarters, near York.) 

January 10^ 178^2. 

PLAN FOR CONDUCTING THE INSPECTOR’S DEPARTMENT. 

Resolved^ That the establishment of the inspector’s department by 
the resolutions of the 25th of September, 1780, and all subsequent reso¬ 
lutions relative thereto, be, and hereby are, repealed; and that the 
department hereafter have the following- form, powers, and privileges, 
viz: 

There shall be an Inspector-General of the armies of the United 
States, to be appointed by Congress from the general officers, and to 
be allowed one secretary in addition to the aids which he has in the 
line of the Army; the secretary shall be taken from the line and be 
entitled to the pay and emoluments of an aid-de-camp. There sliall 
be one inspector for each separate army, to be taken from the field offi¬ 
cers of the line of the Army, to be allowed 30 dollars per month in 
addition to his pay and emoluments in the line. 

The Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army shall, once in 
every month, in such time, place, and mode as the Commander in Chief 
or commanding officer of a separate army shall direct, review and 
muster the troops of every denomination in service, at which review 
they shall inspect the number and condition of the men and horses, the 
discipline of the troops, the state of their arms, accoutrements, ammu 
nition, clothing, and camp equipage, and make returns thereof to the 
Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a separate army, noting 


THE INSPECTOE-GENEEAL’s DEPAETMENT. 


101 


the deficiencies, neglects, and abuses, and, if possible, the manner in 
which they happened; and at the same time pointing out the altera¬ 
tions and amendments they may think necessary in any branch of the 
military system, duplicates of which returns shall be transmitted by 
the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a separate army to 
the Secretary at War. 

At the end of every review the commanding officer of the corps 
reviewed shall exercise his corps in the manual and evolutions before 
the inspector, so as to enable him to inspect and report the discipline 
of the troops agreeably to the foregoing paragraph; and when the 
Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army finds it necessary to 
have particular evolutions or manoeuvres performed, either by one or 
several corps, he shall furnish a plan of such evolutions to the com¬ 
manding officer of the arm}^ who will approve or amend them, and 
order t&m executed, as he may think proper. 

At every review the commanding officer of companies and corps 
shall produce to the inspector returns of the state of their respective 
companies and corps and such other papers and vouchers relative to 
the enlistment of the men as he shall think necessary; three muster 
rolls shall also be made out by the commanding officer of each troop 
or company and signed by him, one of which shall be returned to him, 
certified by the inspector, one shall be certified and delivered to the 
regimental paymaster, to be affixed to the pay rolls, and the other shall 
be retained by the inspector. 

The Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army shall, as soon 
as possible after every muster, transmit an abstract of the musters of 
the whole army in which he is serving to the commanding officer, who 
shall transmit a duplicate thereof to the Secretary at War. 

As soon as possible after every review the inspector shall report to 
the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a separate army all 
such soldiers whom, from inability or other causes, it ma}^ be neces¬ 
sary to discharge or transfer to the invalids; and no discharge shall in 
future be valid unless signed b}" the Commander in Chief or officer 
commanding the army where such discharge is given. 

The Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army shall be 
authorized to call on the Quartermaster-General, Clothier-General, and 
field commissary of military stores, or their deputies, for returns of 
the articles which have been issued from and returned to their several 
departments by each corps, that the inspectors may see whether every 
article so delivered has been regularly and satisfactorily accounted for 
or charged to the corps, agreeably to the established regulations. 

The Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army shall be 
authorized and required to visit the military hospitals of the United 
States from time to time to examine the general state of them and the 
treatment of the patients, which he shall report to the officer command¬ 
ing the Army; and the director, deputy director, or superintending 
surgeon of any hospital shall furnish them with such returns as they 
may find necessary for the better execution of their office. 

The Inspector-General shall himself, previous to the opening and at 
the close of every campaign, or as often as the Commander in Chief 
shall think fit to order, visit every part of the Army to see that uni¬ 
formity prevails throughout the armies of the United States. 

The Inspector-General and inspectors of a separate army, in the 
execution of their offices, shall be subject only to the orders of Congress, 


102 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


the Secretary of War, Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of 
a separate army; and that the inspectors may attend the better to the 
duties of their offices they shall be exempted from all other duties, 
except when the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a 
separate army shall think proper to order otherwise. 

All the returns in the Inspector’s Department are to be made agree¬ 
ably to the forius which shall be delivered by the Inspector-General. 

Each inspector of a separate army shall be allowed to take an officer 
from the line of captains or subalterns to assist him in the duties of his 
office, who shall be allowed ten dollars per month in addition to his 
pay in the line. 

Be8oV})ed^ That Major-General Baron Steuben be, and hereby is, 
continued Inspector-General of the armies of these United States and 
vested with power to appoint all officers necessary to carry the fore¬ 
going plan into execution, they being first approved of b}^ the Com¬ 
mander in Chief. 

March m, 178%, 

Besolred,^ That so much of the act of Congress of January 12,1780, 
respecting Mr. Galvan, as directs that he be employed in the inspector¬ 
ship, as the Commander in Chief shall direct, be, and hereby is, repealed. 

July %6, 178%. 

A motion was made by Mr. Duane, seconded by Mr. Root, 

That Baron Steuben receive, until the further order of Congress, in 
addition to his pay as major-general, 80 dollars per month for his 
traveling expenses in the execution of his office of Inspector-General, 
to be computed from the 10th day of January last. 

* * * 

. . . * Resolved in the affirmative. 

October %3, 178%. 

Besolved, . . . That the following be the proportion of wagons 

and bathorses to the different ranks of officers. 

* * * 

Inspector-General, for his baggage, according to his rank, and for 
his papers as the Commander in Chief may direct. 

Inspectors, one two-horse wagon. 

* * * 

That there shall be allowed for saddle horses: 

* * * 

Inspector-General, agreeable to his rank. 

Inspector, in addition to what he draws in the line, 1 ration. 

* * * 


December SO, 178%. 

Resolved, That the Baron de Steuben be allowed 300 dollars per 
month, in lieu of his extra pay and of subsistence and forage for him- 


103 


THE inspector-general’s DEPARTMENT. 


self and family, including wagon as well as saddle horses, and that 
these allowances hereafter cease. 


tebniary 11,1783— Colonel Stewart, of the 2nd Pennsylvania Regt., is appointed 
inspector for the Northern Army, and Lt. Col. Ternant, of Armand’s Partizan Corps, 
tor the Southern Army. {Orders, General Headquarters, Philadelphia.) 


April 15, 1781^. 

Resolved, That Congress approve of and confirm the appointment of 
Major u illiam North ^ as inspector to the troops remainiiiP’ in the 
service and pay of the United States. 

Apnl 15, 1784. In accepting the resignation of Major-General Baron Steuben, late 
Inspector-General, Congress resolved: “That the thanks of the United States in Con¬ 
gress assembled be given to Baron Steuben for the great zeal and abilities he has 
discovered in the discharge of the several duties of his office; that a gold-hilted sword 
be ]>resented to him as a mark of the high sense Congress entertains of his character 
and services.” September 27, 1785, Congress voted him the sum of $7,000. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Mentges, having been appointed by General Greene inspector 
of contracts to the Southern Army, Congress, having decided that there is nothing 
in the resolve of May 7, 1782> to prevent the duties of that office being performed by 
an officer of the Army, granted Colonel Mentges an additional compensation of $100 
per month while he acted as inspector of contracts. 


March 1785. 


Resolved, That in addition to the pay and emoluments of a captain 
in the line of the Army, Major North receive the monthly pay of 30 
dollars allowed to an inspector of a separate army by the resolution of 
the 10th January, 1782. 

June 25, 1788. 

Resolved, That the office of inspector of the troops in the service of 
the United States immediately cease and be discontinued, and that the 
Secretary of War report what mode may he most eligible for having 
the troops inspected for the future. 

July 3, 1788. —General Washington wrote to the President of Congress “that the 
recruits at present raising in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will be 
mustered and inspected previously to their marching by Mr. Stagg, who is employed 
in this office and is adequate to the business.” Mr. John Stagg was the chief clerk 
of the War Department, and had been an officer of the Continental Army. He and 
Lieutenant-Colonel Mentges, inspector of contracts, performed the duties of inspector 
under the Secretary of War. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of April SO, 1790 {1 Stats., 119). 

AN ACT for regulating the military establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. J. That the President of the United States may, from time 
to time, appoint one or two inspectors, as to him shall seem meet, to 
inspect the said troops, who shall also muster the same, and each of 
whom shall receive the like pay and subsistence as a captain, and 
be allowed ten dollars per month for forage. 

* * * 


1 Major North was appointed by Major-General Baron Steuben, Inspector-General. 



104 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of March 5, 1792 {1 Stats., 21^1). 

AN ACT making further and more effectual provision for the protection of the fron¬ 
tiers of the United States. 

[By section 7 of this act the Adjutant-General is to do also duty of 
inspector.] 


Act of May SO, 1796 {1 Stats., 1^83). 

AN ACT to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States. 

* ->!• * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one inspector, who shall do 

the duty of Adjutant-General.^ . 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the monthly pay of the officers ... of the mili¬ 
tary establishment be as follows: . . . Inspector . . . gen¬ 

erals ... in addition to their pay in the line, twenty-five dol¬ 
lars. ... 

Sec. 13. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations 
of provisions: . . . Inspector . . . generals . . . , six 

rations, ... or money in lieu thereof, at the option of the said 
officers, at the posts, respective!}", where the rations shall become due; 
and if, at such posts, supplies are not furnished by contract, then such 
allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having reference to former 
contracts and the position of the place in question. 

Sec. 14. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever for¬ 
age shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the 
following enumerated sums per month instead thereof, to wit: . . . 

Inspector . . . general . . . twelve dollars . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the general staff as authorized by this act shall con¬ 
tinue in service until the 4th day of next March, and no longer. 

Act of .March 3, 1797 (1 Stats., 507). 


AN ACT to amend and repeal in part the act intituled “An act to ascertain and 
fix the military establishment of the United States.” 

* -x- * 

Sec. 2. [That there shall be one brigadier-general, who may choose] 
his . . . inspector from the captains and subalterns in the line 
(to . . . whom there shall-be allowed the monthly pay of twenty- 

five dollars, in addition to his pay in the line, and two'rations extraor¬ 
dinary per day; and, whenever forage.shall not be furnished by the 
public, to ten dollars per month in lieu thereof). . . 

* * * 


^The Inspector-General acting as Adjutant-General is entitled under this act to |25 
in addition to his pay in the line, six rations per day, and $12 per month for forage. 




THE tnspectoe-geneeal’s depaetment. 105 

Aci of May 1798 {1 Stats., 557). 

AN ACT to amend the act intituled “An act to amend and repeal in part the act 

intituled ‘An act to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United 

States.’” 

Sec. 1. 'Chat the brigadier-general who is now, or may hereafter be, 
in the service of the United States be, and he hereby is, authorized 
to choose his ... inspector . . . from the commissioned 

officers in the line of the Army; and that so ijiuch of the second sec¬ 
tion of the act intituled ‘‘iVn act to amend and repeal in ])art the act 
intituled ‘An act to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the 
United States ’ ” as confines the choice of . . . inspector to cap¬ 

tains and subalterns of the line be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 2. That the accounting officers of the Treasury shall allow to 
Major Cushing the monthly pay, rations, forage, and allowances for 
the same as established by law for an inspector during the time he has 
acted in said capacity by appointment of General Wilkinson. 

Act of May 28, 1798 {1 Stats., 558). 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to raise a provisional army. 
* * * 

Sec. 6. That whenever the President shall deem it expedient he is 
hereby empowered, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to appoint an Inspector-General, with the rank of major-general; and 
the . . . Inspector-General shall ... be entitled to the fol¬ 

lowing pa}" and emoluments, viz, one hundred and sixty-six dollars 
monthly pay, twenty dollars monthly allowance for forage, when the 
same is not provided by the United States, and fifteen rations per day, 
or money in lieu thereof, at the current price; and shall be, and he is 
hereby, authorized to appoint two aids, each of whom shall have the 
rank, pay, and emoluments of a major. . . . And the President 

is hereby authorized, alone, to appoint, from time to time, when he 
shall judge proper, assistant inspectors to every separate portion of 
the Army, consisting of one or more divisions, who shall be deputy 
adjutant-generals thereof, respectively, and who shall be taken from the 
line of the Army, and allowed, in addition to their pay, eight dollars 
per month; and, likewise, to appoint inspectors and subinspectors to 
each brigade and corps of every description, at his discretion, taking 
them from the line of the Army, and they shall each receive, while 
acting in said capacity, an additional pay of six dollars per month. 

* * * 

Sec^ 7. That in case the President shall judge . . . it expedient 

to app*oint ... an Inspector-General ... in the recess of 
the Senate, he is hereby authorized to make . . . said appoint¬ 

ments and grant commissions thereon, which shall expire at the end 
of the next session of the Senate thereafter. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the . . . Inspector-General . . . who may 

be appointed by virtue of this act shall, respectively, continue in com¬ 
mission during such term only as the President shall judge requisite 
for the public service. . . . 


106 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


Sec. 10. That no . . . staff officer who shall he appointed by 

virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive pay or emoluments until 
he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time than he 
shall continue therein. 

* * * 


Act of My 16, 1798' {1 Stats. ' 601,). 

AN ACT to augment the Army of the United States, and for other purposes. 

* " * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one Inspector-General, with 

the rank, pay, and emoluments of a major-general, and two aids-de- 
camp; . . . two assistant inspectors (who shall be taken from the 

line of the Army). ... 

Sec. 4. . . . The aids-de-camp and assistant inspectors shall 

each be entitled to twenty-four dollars monthly, in addition to their 
pay in the line, and to four rations of provisions each for their daily 
subsistence; and whenever forage shall not be furnished by the public 
to ten dollars per month in lieu thereof. 

* * * 

Aet of Afarch 3, 1799 (1 Stats., 7Iff). 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That when any officer shall be detached from a regiment to 
serve ... as assistant or other inspector . . . the place of 

such officer in his regiment shall be supplied, by promotion or new 
appointment, or both, as may be requisite; but the officer detached 
shall, nevertheless, retain his station in his regiment and shall rank 
and rise therein in the same manner as if he had not been detached. 

Sec. 7. That no officer shall be appointed as the inspector of a divi¬ 
sion who when appointed shall be of a rank higher than that of major, 
or as the inspector of a brigade who when appointed shall be of a rank 
higher than that of captain, or as the aid of a major-general who when 
appointed shall be of a rank higher than that of a captain. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That to any army of the United States other than that in 
which the Inspector-General shall serve there shall be a deputy inspector- 
general, who shall be a field officer, and who, in addition to his other 
emoluments, shall be entitled to fifty dollars per month, which shall 
be in full compensation for his extra services and traveling expenses; 
and that to every division of an army there shall be a division inspector, 
who, in addition to his other emoluments, shall be entitled to thirty 
dollars per month,^ which shall be in full compensation for his extra 
services and traveling expenses; and that to every brigade there shall 
be a brigade inspector, who, in addition to his other emoluments, shall 
be entitled to twenty-four dollars per month, which shall be in full 

^Section 9 authorizes the appointment of an inspector of artillery, taken from the 
line of artillerists and engineers, to be allowed |30 per month in addition to his pay 
in the line, 4 rations per day and |10 per month for forage when not furnished in 
kind. 



THE IHSPECTOR-GENERAL's DEPARTMENT. 


107 


compensation for his extra services and traveling expenses; each of 
which officers shall be chosen by the Inspector-General from among the 
regimental officers; the deputy inspector-general to be in every case 
approved by the general commanding the army to which he shall be 
annexed. 

Sec. 11. That the Adjutant-General of the Army shall be ex officio 
assistant inspector-general, and that every deputy inspector-general 
shall be ex officio deputy adjutant-general, and shall perform the duties 
of adjutant-general in the army to which he shall be annexed. 

* * * 

Sec. 26. That there shall be allowed to the Inspector-General, in 
addition to his allowance as major-general, and in full compensation 
for extra services and expenses in the execution of his office, the sum 
of fifty dollars per month, and that he shall be allowed a secretary, to 
be appointed by himself, with the pay and emoluments of a captain. 

Act of March 16^ 180^'^ (2 Stats., 132). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one Adjutant and Inspector of 

the Army, to be taken from the line of field officers. 

* * * 

Sec. I. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . be as follows, 

to wit: ... To the Adjutant and Inspector of the Army, thirty- 
eight dollars in addition to his pay in the line. ... 

* -X- * 

Act of Afarch 12, 1808 (2 Stats., JfSl). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 3. That when in the opinion of the President of the United 
States a suitable proportion of the troops authorized by this act shall 
be raised, there may be appointed . . . two brigade inspectors; 

. . . the brigade inspectors appointed under this act shall be taken 

from the line. ... 

Sec. 4. That the compensation of the officers . . . shall be, 

viz: . . . each brigade inspector, thirty dollars per month, in 

addition to his pay in the line; . . . and to each six dollars per 
month for forage when not furnished: . . . Provided, 

. . . furnish their own horses and accoutrements, and actually keep 

in service the aforesaid number of horses to entitle them to the afore¬ 
going allowance for forage, or its equivalent in money. . . . 

* * 45 - 

Sec. 8. That in the recess of the Senate the President of the United 
States is hereby authorized to appoint all or any of the officers, other 
than the general officers, proper to be appointed under this act, which 
appointments shall be submitted to the Senate, at the next session, for 
their advice and consent. 


'Under this act the offices of Inspector-General and Adjutant-General were united. 



108 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF TJ. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 9. That every . . . staff officer to be appointed in virtue 

of this act shall be a citizen of the United States, or some one of the 
Territories thereof. 

Act of April SO, 1810 {2 Stats,, 592). 


AN ACT regulating the post-office establishment. 

* * * 

Sec. 24. That letters and packets to and from the following officers 
of the United States shall be received and conveyed by post free of 
postage. . . . The Inspector ... of the Army. 

-X- * -X- 

Act of January 11, 1812 (2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That there shall be appointed . . . one Inspector- 

General, . . . with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier- 

general. . . . The said Inspector-General shall be allowed two 

assistant inspectors, to be taken from the line of the Army, each of 
whom shall receive, while acting in said capacity, the same pay and 
emoluments as by this act are allowed to a lieutenant-colonel. . . . 

Sec. 5. That when an officer is detached to serve as ... an 
assistant to the . . . Inspector-General on the appointment of a 

general officer ... he shall not thereby lose his rank. 

* * * 

Sec. 25. That no . . . staff officer, who may be appointed by 

virtue of this act, shall be entitled to receive any pay or emoluments 
until he shall be called into actual service, nor for an}^ longer time 
than he shall continue therein. 

Act of May 16, 1812 {2 Stats., 735). 

AN ACT making further provision for the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized to appoint, from the captains and subalterns of the line 
of the Army, so many subinspectors as the service may require, not 
exceeding one to each brigade; and such subinspectors shall each 
receive twenty-four dollars per month in addition to his pay in the line. 
* * * 


Act of July 6, 1812 (2 Stats., 782). 

AN ACT respecting the pay of the Army of the United States. 

■ • • brigade inspector and adjutant there 
shall be allowed forage for one horse only, or in lieu thereof ten dol- 
lars per month. . . . 


THE INSPECTOE-GENERAL’s DEPARTMENT. 109 

Act of July 6, 18 W Stats., 784). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the . . . Inspector-General ... of the Army shall 

serve, it shall be lawful for the President to appoint . . . one 

deputy inspector-general, . . . who shall be taken from the line 

of the Army, and who shall each, in addition to his pay and other 
emoluments, be entitled to fifty dollars per month, which shall be in 
full compensation for his extra services. And that there shall be, to 
each of the foregoing deputies, such number of assistant deputies (not 
exceeding three to each department) as the public service may require, 
who shall, in like manner, be taken from the line, and who shall, each, 
be entitled to thirty dollars per month, in addition to his pay and other 
emoluments, which shall be in full compensation for his extra services: 

. . . And provided also, That the President of the United States 

be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint any of the officers named 
in this act during the recess of the Senate, to be submitted to the 
Senate at their next meeting for their advice and consent. 

Sec. 3. That all letters and packages to and from the . 
Inspector-General shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 1813 if Stats., 819). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

That the . . . Inspector-General’s . . . departments shall 

consist of the following officers, that is to say, an Adjutant and Inspector- 
General, with the rank, pay, and emolument of a brigadier-general, 
and not exceeding . . . eight inspectors-general, sixteen assistant 

inspectors-general. ... 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and is hereby, 
authorized, if he shall deem it expedient, to assign one of the brigadiers- 
general to the principal Army of the United States, who shall, in such 
case, act as Adjutant and Inspector-General, and as chief of staff of 
such Army. . . . 

Sec. 3."That . . . all the other inspectors-general . . . 

shall have the brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a colonel 
of infantry; the . . . assistant inspectors-general . . . shall 

have the "brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a major of 
cavalry. . . . 

Sec. 4. That ... the assistant inspectors-general . . . 
shall betaken from the line. The . . . inspectors-general . . . 
may be taken from the line or not, as the President may deem 
expedient. 

Sec. 11. That all letters and packets to and from the Adjutant and 
Inspector-General, . . . inspectors-general, . . . which relate 

to their official duties, shall be free from postage. 


110 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March 3, 1815 {3 Stats., 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . four brigade inspectors. 

. . . The brigade inspectors appointed under this act shall be 

taken from the line. . . . 

-X- * * 

May 17, 1815. . . . And the President of the United States has further judged 

proper, that, in addition to the provision for a general staff, which is specifically 
made by the act of Congress, certain officers shall be retained, under the special 
authority given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge, with¬ 
out material iniurv to the service; and that the following shall be the 

GENERAL STAFF. 

* * * 

An adjutant and Inspector-General, to be provisionally retained. 

Four brigade inspectors. 

* * * 

{General Orders, A. and I. G.’s Office.) 

Act of Ajyrll '21}., 1816 (3 Stats., 297). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the 
Army of the United States. 

That, in addition to the act providing for a military peace establish¬ 
ment, the provisions of the act of March the third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, for the better organization of the general staff 
be, and the same are hereby, so far established that the general staff 
shall in future consist of one adjutant and inspector general of the 
Army, and . . . one inspector-general . . . and an assistant 

. . . to every brigade, which shall supersede the brigade . . . 

inspectors now existing. . . . 

* * * 

Act of Ajiril Ih, 1818 {3 Stats., I}26). 

AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the pay and emoluments of the inspector-generals of 
divisions be, and is hereby, raised to be equal to the pay and emolu¬ 
ments of the adjutant-generals of division. 

* *- * 

Act of March 2, 1821 {3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That there shall be . . . two inspectors-general, with 

the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry. 


THE IHSPEOTOE-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT. Ill 

Act of March 3, 1825 Stats. ^ 127). 

AN ACT to authorize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military stores. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or survey of the unserviceable stores 
shall be made by an inspector-general or such other officer or officers 
as the Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose. . . . 

Act of AEarch 2, 1827 {J^ Stats.,'238). 

AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-Office Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the . . . inspectors-general ... be author¬ 

ized to frank, and to receive letters and packets by post free of 
postage. ... 

* * * 

Act of July 5, 1838 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. The President is authorized to appoint two assistant adjutants- 
general, with the brevet rank of major, and four, with the brevet rank 
of captain, who shall be taken from the line of the army, and in addi¬ 
tion to their own shall perform the duties of assistant inspectors- 
general when the circumstances of the service may require. 

' * * * 

Act of August 23, 18Jf2 {5 Stats., 512). 

AN ACT respecting the organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That within one month of the passage of this act the offices 
of one inspector-general . . . shall be abolished. . . . 

Act of January 12, 18If {9 Stats., 2). 

AN ACT to repeal the act which abolished the office of one of the inspectors-general 
of the Army, and to revive and establish said office. 

That so much of the fourth section of an act approved the twenty- 
third day of August, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, entitled 
"‘An act respecting the organization of the Army, and for other pur¬ 
poses,” as directs that the office of one inspector-general of the Army 
shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and all acts and parts of 
acts so repealed shall be, and the same hereby are, revived and con¬ 
tinued in force. 

Act of August 3, 1861 (12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in addition 


112 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


to the number authorized by existing* laws and in accordance with 
existing regulations, five assistant inspectors-general, with the rank 
and pay of majors of cavalry . . . , to have the pay, rank, and 

allowance and perform the duties of similar officers in the present 
military establishment. . . 

* * * 

Act of August 6, 1861 {12 Stats., 317). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Engineer and Topographical Engineer 
Corps, and for other purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 4.^ That the President of the United States is hereby author¬ 
ized to appoint two additional inspectors-general for the United States 
Army, said inspectors-general to have the same rank and receive the 
same pay and allowances as now provided by law for inspectors- 
general. 

* * -X- 


Act of July 17, 1862 {12 Stats., 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrection, and repel invasion, approved February twenty-eighth, seven¬ 
teen hundred and ninety-five, and the act amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That each army corps shall have . . . one assistant 

inspector-general, who shall bear, . . . , the rank of lieutenant- 

colonel, and who shall be assigned from the army or volunteer force 
by the President. ... 

* * * 


Act of July 28, 1866 {U Stats., 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 11. That there shall be four inspectors-general of the Army,^ 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; three 
assistant inspectors-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
lieutenant-colonels of cavalry, and two assistant inspectors-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry. 

* -X- * 


Act of March 3, 1860 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making iippropriations for the support of the Army for the year endin<^ 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. t). That, until otherwise directed by law, there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Inspector-GeneraFs 
Department. ... 


1 Section 4 of this act is repealed by section 3 of act of same date (12 Stats SIS') 

to designate, from time to time, what articles shall be kept by 

the Subsistence Department for sale to enlisted men —-i-j -_Tx.. ^ 

1144, Revised Statutes 


Provision repealed in section 







THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL ^8 DEPARTMENT. 


113 


Aci of June 8, 1872 {17 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT to authorize an appointment in the Inspector-General’s Department. 

That the President be, and hereb}" is, authorized to nominate, and, 
by and with the advdce and consent of the Senate, to appoint Nelson H. 
Davis, of the Inspector-Generars Department, to the rank and place 
therein to which he is entitled, and which he would have held had the 
law of promotions by seniority under the act of March third, eighteen 
hundred and fifty-one and the army regulations of eighteen hundred 
and sixty-three been carried out: Provided, That no officer in said 
department shall, by this act, be reduced from his present grade, nor 
shall an}^ pay or allowance be made to any officer under it, except 
from the date of his confirmation: And provided further, That no pro¬ 
motion to the grade of inspector-general shall hereafter be made until 
the number of inspectors-general is reduced to four. 

Act of AEai'ch 3, 1873 {17 Stats., 582). 

AN ACT to provide for the establishment of a military prison, and for its government. 
* * * 

Sec. 5. That one of the inspectors of the Army shall, at least once 
in three months, visit the prison for the purpose of examining into 
books and all the attairs thereof, and ascertain whether the laws, rules, 
and regulations relating thereto are complied with, the officers are 
competent and faithful, and the convicts properly governed and 
employed, and at the same time treated with humanity and kindness. 
And it shall be the duty of the inspector, at once, to make full report 
thereof to the Secretary of AVar. 

* * * 

Act of June 16, 1871,. {18 Stats., 77). 

AN ACT to authorize an appointment in the Inspector-General’s Department. 

Whereas a vacancy of lieutenant-colonel in the Inspector-General’s 
Department of the Army originated on the thirteenth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven, to which Major Absalom Baird was entitled 
to be promoted under the laws then in existence, but from which he 
was excluded by reason of another appointment in said department 
previously made, and whereas an act of Congress approved June 
eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, which was passed with the 
intention of rectifying this wrong, has failed to secure to Major Baird 
his just rights: Therefore, 

That the President be, and hereby is, authorized to nominate and 
promote Absalom Baird to be lieutenant-colonel and assistant inspector- 
general, to date from June thirteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
seven: but no pay or allowance shall be made to him for any time 
prior to the passage of this act. 

Act of June 23, 1871,. {18 Stdts., 2Uy 

AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 

That the Inspector-General’s Department shall consist of one colonel, 
two lieutenant-colonels, and two majors, with the rank, pay, and emolu¬ 
ments of officers of said grades; that the Secretary of War may, in 
addition, detail officers of the line, not to exceed foiu*, to act as 
inspectors-general: Provided, That officers of the line detailed as acting 

S. Doc. 229-6 



114 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

inspectors-general shall have all the allowances of cavalry officers of 
their respective grades; and no new appointment shall be made in the 
Inspector-General’s Department until the number of inspectors-general 
is reduced to five. 

* * * 

* Sec. 6. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out by reason of any provision of law herein made reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the stall. 

* * * 

REVISED STATUTES—SECOND EDITION—1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Armv of the United States shall consist of— 

* * * 

An Inspector-General’s Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1131. There shall be five inspectors-general of the Army, with 
the rank of colonel of cavalry; provided no promotion shall be made 
until the number of inspectors-general is reduced to four; one assistant 
inspector-general, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; and 
two assistant inspectors-general, with the rank of major of cavalry. 

* * * 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the departments . , . of 

inspector-general. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 1348. One of the inspectors of the Army shall, at least once in 
three months, visit the [Military] prison for the purpose of examining 
into the books and all the affairs thereof, and ascertaining whether the 
laws, rules, and regulations relating thereto are complied with, the 
officers are competent and faithful, and the convicts properly governed 
and employed, and at the same time treated with humanity and kind¬ 
ness. And it shall be the duty of the inspector, at once, to make full 
report thereof to the Secretary of War. 

* * * 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of December W, 1878 {W Stats,, ^57). 

AN ACT establishing the rank of the senior inspector-general. 

That from and after the passage of this act the rank of the senior 
inspector-general of the United States Army shall lie brigadier-gen¬ 
eral; but no pay or allowances shall be made to said officer other than 
froni the date of appointment under this act: And provided, That 
nothing herein enacted shall authorize aii}^ increase in the number or 
the rank of the other officers of the Inspector-General’s Department 
as fixed by the first section of the act of June twenty-third, eighteen 
hundred and seventy-four. 

Act of March S, 1883 Stats., 56f). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers’ Home located at Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes 
* * * ' 

Sec. 2. That the Inspector-General of the Army shall, in person, 
once in each year thoroughly inspect the Home, its records, accounts. 


THE IHSPECTOE-GENEEAl’s DEPAETMENT. 


115 


management, discipline, and sanitary condition, and shall report 
thereon in writing, together with such suggestions as he desires to 
make. 

* * * 


Act of February 5, 1885 {23 Stats., 297). 

AN ACT relative to the Inspector-Generars Department of the Army. 

That the Inspector-General’s Department of the Army shall here¬ 
after consist of one Inspector-General, with the rank, pay, and emolu¬ 
ments of brigadier-general; two inspectors-gencral, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of colonel; two inspectors-general, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonel; and two inspectors-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of major: Provided, That the offices 
restored to the Inspector-General’s Department, or added thereto, 
by this act, shall be filled by promotion of the officers now in that 
Department; and that thereafter appointments to fill vacancies in the 
Inspector-General’s Department, and promotions therein, shall be made 
in conformity with sections eleven hundred and twenty-nine, eleven 
hundred and ninety-three, and twelve hundred and four of the Revised 
Statutes of the United States, and in the same manner as in the other 
staff departments of the Army. And all laws or parts of laws conflict¬ 
ing with this act are hereby repealed. 

Act of January 19, 1891 {26 Stats., 722). 

AN ACT to amend sections thirteen hundred and forty-six and thirteen hundred and 
forty-eight of the Revised Statutes of the United States, in reference to the visita¬ 
tion and inspection of the Military Prison and examination of its accounts and 
government. 

* * * 

‘‘Sec. 1348. One of the inspectors-general of the Army shall, at 
least once each year, visit the prison for the purpose of examining into 
the books and all the affairs thereof, and ascertaining whether the laws, 
rules, and regulations relating thereto are complied with, the officers 
are competent and faithful, and the convicts properly governed and 
employed, and at the same time treated with humanity and kindness. 
And it shall be the duty of the inspector, at once, to make full report 
thereof to the Secretary of War.” 

* -x- * 

Act of August 6, 189Jf, {28 Stats., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of'the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

. . . Provided, That . . . hereafter all appointments to fill 

vacancies in the lowest grade in the . . . Inspector-General’s . . . 
Department, respectively, shall be made from the next lowest grade 
in the line of the Army. 


116 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF tJ. 8 . ARMY. 

Act of Augitst 18^ 189If, {28 Stats., 372). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

NATIONAL HOME FOR DISABLED VOLUNTEER SOLDIERS. 

* * * 

That hereafter, once in each fiscal .year, the Secretaiy of War shall 
cause a thorough inspection to be made of the National Home for Dis¬ 
abled Volunteer Soldiers, its records, disbursements, management, 
discipline, and condition, such inspection to be made by an officer of 
the Inspector-General’s Department, who shall report thereon in writ¬ 
ing, and said report shall be transmitted to Congress at the first session 
thereafter. 

* * * 


Act of April 22, 1898 {30 Stats:, 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one inspector-general, . . . who shall have 
. . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel; . . . the staff of the com¬ 
mander of a division shall consist of . . . one inspector-general, 

. . . who shall have . . . the rank of major. . , , 


Act of July 7, 1898 {30 Stats., 720). 


AN ACT to provide for a temporary increase in the Inspector-General’s Department 

of the Army. 

That the President is authorized, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to appoint one inspector-general with the rank of colonel, 
one inspector-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and one 
inspector-general with the rank of major: Provided, That the vacan¬ 
cies created in the grade of colonel and lieutenant-colonel by this act 
^all be filled by the promotion of officers now in the Inspector-General’s 
Department according to seniority, and that upon the mustering out of 
the volunteer forces and the reduction of the Regular Army to a peace 
basis no appointments shall bo made in the Inspector-General’s Depart- 
ment until the number of officers in each grade in that department shall, 
be reduced to the number now authorized by law. 


Act of Alarch 2, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 


That from and after the date of 
United States shall consist of . 

ment. . . . 


approval of this act the Army of the 
. . an Inspector-General’s Depart- 


THE HSTSPECTOR-GENERAL’s DEPARTMENT. 


117 


Sec. 6. That the . . . Inspector-General’s departments shall 

consist of the number of officers nowin those departments, respectively: 
Provided^ That vacancies in the grade of major occurring in either 
department shall hereafter be hlled from captains in the line of the 
Army: And,provided That all such captains who have evinced 

marked aptitude in the command of troops shall be reported by their 
regimental commanders to the War Department and shall be entitled 
to compete for any such vacancy under such system of examination as 
the President shall prescribe. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Three inspectors-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and six 
inspectors-general with the rank of major. 

* * * 

Act of Feh^uary 1901 {31 Stats. ^ -). 

AN ACT To increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this Act the Army of the 
United States . . . shall consist of ... an Inspector- 

General’s Department. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That the Inspector-General’s Department shall consist of 
one Inspector-General with the rank of brigadier-general, four inspect¬ 
ors-general with the rank of colonel, four inspectors-general with the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel, and eight inspectors-general with the rank 
of major: Provided.^ That all vacancies created or caused by this section 
shall be filled, as far as possible, by promotion according to seniority 
of officers of the Inspector-General’s Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 26 . That so long as there remain any officers holding perma¬ 
nent appointments in the . . . Inspector-General’s Department, 

including those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of cap¬ 
tain and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, 
seventeen, twenty-one, and twenty-four of this Act, they shall be 
promoted according to seniority in the several grades, as now provided 
by law, and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to 
vacancies which can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for 
which the officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when 
any vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, 
shall occur, which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this 
section, it shall be filled by detail from the line of the Army, and no 
more permanent appointments shall be made in those departments or 
corps after the original vacancies created by this Act shall have been 
filled. Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacan¬ 
cies exist, under such system of examination as the President may 
from time to time prescribe. 



118 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in any staff department until they shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro¬ 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided^ That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart¬ 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff corps or 
departmant shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this 
Act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff duty. If 
under the operation of this Act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

* * * 

Act of Ma/rcJi 1901 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

Provided., That upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the grade of 
colonel in the Inspector-General’s Department after the present lieu¬ 
tenant-colonels therein shall have been promoted or retired, such 
vacancy shall not be filled, and thereafter the number of officers author¬ 
ized for that department shall be as follows: One Inspector-General 
with the rank of brigadier-general; three inspectors-general with the 
rank of colonel; four inspectors-general with the rank of lieutenant- 

colonel, and nine inspectors-general with the rank of major. 

* * * 

Provided., That appointments to fill original vacancies in the lowest 
grade in the . . . Inspector-General’s Department . . . may 

be made from officers of volunteers commissioned since April twenty- 
first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. . . . 


rv. -THE .lUDCiE-AHVOCATE-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT. 


119 











THE Jl DGE-ADYOCATE-OENEHAL’S DEPARTMENT. 


The offices of ‘‘Judge-Advocate-General” and “Judge-Advocate of 
the Army” (the hrst named, created in 1775, when William Tudor, a 
law pupil of John Adams and a leading counselor of Boston, was 
elected to that position) lapsed in 1802, the act of March 16, of that 
year, limiting the line of the Army to three regiments. The last 
named was revived by the act of January 11, 1812, and again discon¬ 
tinued on the reorganization of the Army in 1821. The act of March 2, 
1849, authorized the President to appoint a suitable person as Judge- 
Advocate of the Army. The Bureau of Military Justice was created 
June 20, 1864, but by the act of July 5,1884, ii was, with the corps 
of judge-advocates, consolidated under the title of “dudge-Advocate- 
General’s Department.” 


1775 - 1802 . 

July 29,1775.—Lieut. Col. William Tudor. 

Apr. 10,1777.—Lieut. Col. John Lawrence. 

July 9,1782.—James Innis, esq. 

Sept. 18,1782.—Maj. Richard Howell. 

Oct. 2,1782.—Lieut. Thomas Edwards, Ninth Massachusetts. 

June 2,1797.—Capt. Campbell Smith, Fourth Infantry. 

1812 - 1821 . 

Northern Division. 

Sept. 26,1812.—Maj. Thomas Gales (-). 

Aug. 6,1814.—Henry Wheaton, esq. (New York). 

1817. —Rider H. Winder, esq. (Maryland). 

1818. —Samuel H. Storrow, esq. (Massachusetts). 

Southern Division. 

Mar. 18,1813.—Everett A. Bancker, esq. (New York). 

July 9,1814.—Rider H. Winder, esq. (Maryland). 

1815.—James T. Dent, esq. (Georgia). 

1818.—Samuel H. Storrow, esq. (Massachusetts). 

Sept. 10,1818.—Stockley D. Hays, esq. (Tennessee). 

1849 - 1901 . 

Mar 2,1849.—Bvt. Maj. John F. Lee, captain of ordnance (Virginia). 

July 31,1862.—Maj. Levi C. Turner (New York). ^ , 

Sept. 3,1862.—Col. (Brig. Gen. June 22,1864) Joseph Holt (District of Columbia). 
Dec. 1,’ 1875.—Brig. Gen. William McK. Dunn (Indiana). 

Feb. 18,1881.—Brig. Gen. David G. Swaim (Ohio). 

Jan. 3,1895.—Brig. Gen. Guido N. Lieber (New York). 


121 








THE JTTDGE-ADVOCATE-GENEHAL’S DEPARTMENT. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

July 29, 1775, 

Resolved, That the pay of the. . . . be . . . 

* * * 

fludge-Advocate, twent}^ dollars per do. (month). 

* * -x- 

William Tudor, esq., was elected Judge-Advocate of the Army. 

July 30, 1775. —“William Tudor, esq., being appointed Judge-Advocate of the 
Continental Army, he is in all things relative to his office to he acknowledged and 
obeyed as such.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

Septemhet^ 21, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That the pay of the Judge-Advocate in the 

Army in the Massachusetts Bay, for himself and his clerk, be fifty 
dollars per month from the time of his appointment. 

January 7, 1776 .—“That no mistake in regard to the said articles [new Articles of 
War] may possibly happen, each book is . . . countersigned upon the title 

r age by William Tudor, esq., Judge-Advocate of the Army of the United Colonies.” 
(Jrders, General Headquarters, Cambridge .) 

May 6, 1776. 

Resolved, That John Taylor be appointed judge-advocate to the 
continental troops in the colony of Virginia. 

August 10, 1776. 

Resolved, That William Tudor, Judge-Advocate-General, have the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Army of the United States. 

September 20, 1776. 

Congress resumed the consideration of the Articles of War, which, 
being debated by paragraphs, were agreed to, as follows: 

* * * 

SECTION XIV. 

* * * 

Akt. 3. The Judge-Advocate-General, or some person deputed by 
him, shall prosecute in the name of the United States of America. 

* * * 


123 



124 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

October m, 1776. 

Besolved, . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the staff in the Army of the United Sfaites, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows: . . . ^ 

To the . . . deputy judge-advocate, 6 rations, 

April 10, 1777. —“John Lawrence, esq., is appointed judge-advocate in the room 
of William Tudor, esq., who has resigned.’’ [Orders, General Headquarters, J/orm- 
to'ivn.) 

A:pril 11, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the pay of the judge-advocate be raised to 
60 dollars a month. 

May 27, 1777. 

Resolved, That if General Gates, before General Schuyler’s arrival 
at iJbany, shall have appointed a . . . deputy judge-advocate for 

the northern army, the said appointments be confirmed; if not, that 
General Schuyler be empowered to make these appointments. 


June 6, 1777. 

Resolved, That the deputy judge-advocate in the northern army, and 
the deputy judge-advocate of the division of the Army now at Peek’s- 
Kill, be allowed the rank, pay, and rations of captains. 

November 20,1777. —“ Lieutenant John Marshall is, by the Judge-Advocate-General, 
appointed deputy judge-advocate in the Army of the United States.” ( Orders, Gen¬ 
eral Headquarters, WMte-Marsh .) 

February 5, 1778. —To assist and cooperate with the judge-advocate in conducting 
the trial of general officers who were in the Northern Department when Ticon- 
deroga and Mount Independence were evacuated. Congress authorized the appoint¬ 
ment of two counselors, and elected Jonathan D. Sergeant, esq., attorney-general of 
Pennsylvania, and William Patterson, esq., attorney-general of New Jersey. 


February 17, 1778. 

Resolved, That Brigadier R. Howe’s appointment of Henry Purcell, 
to be deputy judge-advocate-general for the States of South Carolina 
and Georgia, be confirmed. 


March 27, 1778. 

Resolved, That John Lawrence, esq.. Judge-Advocate-General, be 
hereafter allowed 75 dollars per month, his former rations, and forage 
for two horses. 


Novemhev 13, 1778. 

Resolved, That the commanding officer in the Southern Department 
be empowered, if he shall find it necessary, to appoint a deputy judge- 
advocate for the troops in Georgia, to act so long as occasion requires, 
and to be entitled to the usual monthly pay and allowance. 


THE judge-advocate-general’s DEPARTMENT. 125 

Novemher 16^ 1779. 

Hesolyed., That it be recommended to the executive authority of the 
respective States, upon the application of the judge-advocate for that 
purpose, to grant proper writs requiring and compelling the person 
or persons whose attendance shall be requested by the said judge to 
appear and give testimony in any cause depending before a court- 
martial; and that it be recommended to the legislatures of the several 
States to vest the necessary powers for the purposes aforesaid in their 
executive authorities, if the same be not alread}^ done. 

JResolved., That in cases not capital in trials in court-martial, deposi¬ 
tions may be given in evidence, provided the prosecutor and person 
accused are present at the taking of the same. 

Decemher 1779. 

Resolved^ That until the further order of Congress, the subsistence 
of a judge-advocate be the same as the present subsistence of a col¬ 
onel; and that the subsistence of a deputy judge-advocate be the same 
as the present subsistence of a lieutenant-colonel. 

Deceiriler 1779. 

Rewl/ved.^ That on the trials of cases not capital before courts-martial, 
the depositions of witnesses not in the line or staff of the Army may 
be taken before some justice of the peace, and read in evidence, pro¬ 
vided the prosecutor and person accused are present at the taking the 
same, or that notice be given of the times and places of taking such 
depositions to the opposite party four days previous thereto, when the 
witness reside within the distance of thirty miles from such parU^ and 
six days when the witness reside above the distance of thirty, and not 
exceeding eighty miles, and a reasonable time for a greater distance. 

* * * 

Resolved., That to encourage witnesses who do not belong to the 
Army to attend on courts-martial and give their evidence viva voce 
when required by the judge-advocate, the reasonable expenses of such 
witnesses shall be defrayed by the United States, and paid by the pay¬ 
master to the board of war and ordnance, being first adjusted by the 
said board. 

December 24, 1779 .— “The honorable the Board of War, having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen, and directed the distribution of them among the officers 
of the . . . staff, who are not adopted by any State, the clothier-general is to 

deliver them, upon returns signed by the . . . heads of the following corps and 

departments at the rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 25th of November 
last. . . . Judge-Advocate.” . . . {Orders, General Headquarters, Morris- 

town.) 

Aprils, 1780 .— “Lieutenant Edwards, of Col. Jackson’s regiment, is appointed 
deputy judge-advocate in the Army of the United States.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Morristown.) 

July 15,1780. 

Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a sepa- 


126 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


rate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many baggage 
wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to wit: 

* * * 

Judge-Advocate. 1 two-horse wagon or 2 bathorses. 

Deputy judge-advocate with a separate army.1 two-horse wagon or 2 bathorses. 

Besohed, That in addition . . . there be issued ... as 

many rations as the service shall require. 

. . . Judge-Advocate, two. . . . 

Ncmemher 10^ 1780. 

Besolved^ That the salary of John Lawrence, as Judge-Advocate, 
be settled at the rate of 60 dollars per month, from the time of his 
appointment to the 27th of March, 1778, and from that day to the 1st 
of August last, at the rate of 75 dollars per month; that the deprecia¬ 
tion on his pay shall be adjusted on the same principles as are directed 
with respect to that part of the line of the Army which is to be pro¬ 
vided for by Congress; that from the first day of August last, his pay 
and appointments be 140 dollars per month, 2 rations per day, exclu¬ 
sive of what is allowed to the office by the arrangement of the Quar¬ 
termaster’s Department. 

That Mr. Edwards, besides his pay as a lieutenant, shall be entitled 
to an addition of 15 dollars per month as deputy judge-advocate, and 
that Mr. Strong shall, in all respects, excepting the rank of lieutenant, 
be entitled to the pay and appointments provided for Mr. Edwards 
for the time he hath or shall continue to execute the office of deputy 
judge-advocate. 

September ^<5, 1781. 

Besolved, That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the States of 
which the Judge-Advocate and his assistants are respectively inhabit¬ 
ants to settle with them for the depreciation of their pay on the prin¬ 
ciples adopted in settlements with the officers of their respective State 
line. 

June 3, 1782 .—Congress accepted the resignation of John Lawrence, Judge- 
Advocate. 

July 9, 1782. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Judge-Advocate for the 
Army, and, the ballots being taken, 

James Innis, esq., was elected, having been previously nominated 
by Mr. Bland, Va. ^ j 

July 11, 1782. 

Besolved, That the pay of the Judge-Advocate for the Army of the 
United States be 75 dollars per month; that he be allowed two rations 
per day, and 12f dollars per month for subsistence; also a two-horse 
wagon, with forage for two saddle horses; that he be also allowed for 
a servant 6| dollars per month, for which servant he shall be entitled 
to draw the rations and clothing of a private in the Army. 




THE judge-advocate-general’s DEPARTMENT. 127 

Resolved^ That the pay of a deputy judge-advocate for the southern 
army, who shall be taken from the line, be 60 dollars per month, 
including his pay in the line; that he be allowed two rations per day, 
and 12f dollars per month for subsistence, including what he may be 
entitled to as an officer in the line; also a two-horse wagon, with forage 
for two saddle horses, including what he may be entitled to as an officer 
of the line; that he be also allowed for a servant 6f dollars per month, 
for which servant he shall be entitled to draw the rations and clothing 
of a private in the Army. In this last case he shall not be allowed a 
servant from the line. 

Resolved^ That the deputy judge-advocate employed in the same 
army with the Judge-Advocate be taken from the line of the Army, 
who shall receive, in addition to his pay in the line, 15 dollars per 
month; that he be also allowed for a servant the same as the Judge- 
Advocate, and that he be allowed forage for one saddle horse. 

Resolved^ That all resolutions heretofore passed respecting the pay 
and allowance in the department of Judge-Advocate be, and the same 
are hereby, repealed. 

September 12, 1782. —Mr. Innis having failed to signify his acceptance and it having 
been intimated tliat he would decline the office, Congress, September 18, elected 
Major Howell in his place, who, in turn, declined the office of Judge-Advocate, 
October 1, 1782. 

Sejytemhet^ 18^ 178^. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Judge-Advocate, and, the 
ballots being taken, 

Major Kichard Howell was elected, having been previously nomi¬ 
nated by Mr. Boudinot. 

October 178^2, 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Judge-Advocate, and, the 
ballots being taken, 

Lieutenant Thomas Edwards was elected, having been previously 
nominated by Mr. Duane. 

October 7, 1782. “The honorable the Congress of the United States [has] been 
pleased by their resolutions of the 2d October, to appoint Lt. Thomas Edwards, of 
the 9th Massachusetts Regt., to be Judge-Advocate of the Army.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, VerpanFs Point.) 

October 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the following be the proportion of wagons 

and bathorses to the different rank of officers: . . . 

* * * . 

Judge-Advocate, one two-horse wagon. 

Deputy judge-advocate for the southern army, one two-horse wagon. 
* * * 

That there shall be allowed for saddle horses: 

* * * 

Judge-Advocate, 2 rations. 

Deputy with a separate army, 2 rations. 

* * * 

November 12, 1782. “Lt. Samuel Cogswell, of the 9th Massachusetts Regt., is 
appointed deputy judge-advocate. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh. ) 


128 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act ofAfarch S, 1797 {1 Stats., 607). 

AN ACT to amend and repeal, in part, the act entitled “An act to ascertain and fix 
the military establishment of the United States.” 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That there shall be . . . one judge-advocate, who shall 

be taken from the commissioned officers of the line, and shall be 
entitled to receive two rations extra per day and twenty-five dollars 
per month, in addition to his pay in the line; and whenever forage 
shall not be furnished by the public, to ten dollars per month in lieu 
thereof. 

* * * 

Act of Ajfjrit 10,1806 {2 Stats., 359). 

AN ACT for establishing rides and articles for the government of the armies of the 

United States. 

* * * 

Article 69. The judge-advocate, or some person deputed by him, 
or by the general or officer commanding the army detachment or gar¬ 
rison, shall prosecute in the name of the United States, but shall so 
far consider himself as counsel for the prisoner, after the said prisoner 
shall have made his plea, as to object to any leading question to any of 
the witnesses, or any question to the prisoner, the answer to which 
might tend to criminate himself; and administer to each member of the 
court before they proceed upon any trial the following oath: . . 

‘‘You, A. B., do swear that you will well and truly try and deter¬ 
mine according to evidence the matter now before you between 
the United States of America and the prisoner to be tried, and that 
you will duly administer justice, according to the provisions of ‘An 
act establishing rules and articles for the governnment of the armies 
of the United States,’ without partiality, favor or affection; and if 
any doubt shall arise, not*explained by said articles, according to your 
conscience, the best of your understanding, and the custom of war in 
like cases; and you do further swear that you will not divulge the 
sentence of the court until it shall be published by the proper authority; 
neither will you disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any partic¬ 
ular member of the court-martial, unless required to give evidence 
thereof as a witness, by a court of justice, in a due course or law. So 
help you God.'^'^ 

And as soon as the said oath shall have been administered to the 
respective members the president of the court shall administer to the 
judge*advocate, or person officiating as such, an oath in the following 
words: 

“You, A. B.,do swear that you will not disclose or discover the 
vote or opinion of any particular member of the court-martial, unless 
required to give evidence thereof as a witness, by a court of justice, in 
due course of law; nor divulge the sentence of the court, to any but 
the proper authority, until it shall be duly disclosed by the same. So 
help you God. ” 


THE JUDGE-ADVOCATE-GENEKAl’s DEPARTMENT. 


129 


Article 90. Every judge-advocate, or pernoii otiieiatiiig as such, at 
general court-martial, shall transmit, with as much expedition as 
the opportunity of time and distance of place can admit, tne original 
proceedings and sentence of such court-martial to the Secretary of 
ar; said original proceedings and sentence shall be carefully kept 
and preserved in the office of said Secretary, to the end that the per¬ 
sons entitled thereto may be enabled, upon application to the said 
office, to obtain copies thereof. 

* * * 

Act of January 11^ 181‘2 AStats.^ 671). 


AN ACT to raiye an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 19. That there shall be appointed to each division a judge- 
advocate, who shall be entitled to the same ])tiv and emoluments as a 
major in the infantry; or, if taken from the line of the Arm}-, shall be 
entitled to thirty dollars p(‘r month, in addition to his pay, and the same' 
allowance for forage as is allowed by law for a major of infantry. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 25. That no . . . staff officer who may be appointed by 

virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive any pav or emoluments 
until he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time 
than he shall continue therein. 

May 17, 1815. . . . The acts of Congress . . . remain in force; as well as 

certain acts authorizing the appointment of judge-advocates. . . . {General 

Orders, A. and L G.'s Office.) 

Act of April U, lAlG (8 AStat,^., ^297). 


AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 


-X- A- * 

Sec. 2. That . . . there be three judge-advocates to each divi¬ 
sion . . . who shall •i’cceivc the pay and emoluments of a major, 

as heretofore allowed. 

* * * 

Act of April If 1818 (3 Stats., 1^26). 

AN AC’T regulating the staff of the Army. 

That so much of the . . . ‘‘act for organizing the general staflf, 

and making further provision for the Army of the United States,” 
passed April 24, 1816, as relates to . . . judge-advocates . . . 

be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 2. That there shaU be . . . one judge-advocate, with the pay 

and emoluments of a topographical engineer, to each division. . . . 

x- * * 


S. Doc. 229-9 



130 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of March 18Jf9 {9 StaU.^ 351). 

AN ACT to provide for an increase of the medical staff and for an additional number 
of chaplains of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the President be, and he is hereb 3 % authorized, b}^ and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint a suitable person 
as judge-advocate for the Arm}^ to be taken from the captains in the 
Arm^^, who shall have the brevet rank, pa}", and emoluments of a major 
of cavalry. . . . 


Act of July 1862 (12 Stats.., 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

Sec. 5. That the President shall appoint, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, a Judge-Advocate-General, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry, to whose office shall be returned 
for revision the records and proceedings of all the courts-martial and 
military commissions, and where a record shall be kept of all proceed¬ 
ings had thereupon. And no sentence of death or imprisonment in the 
penitentiary shall be carried into execution until the same shall have 
been approved by the President. 

Sec. 6 . That there may be appointed by the President, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, for each army in the held a 
judge-advocate, with the rank, pay, and emoluments each of a major 
of cavalry, who shall perform the duties of judge-advocate for the 
army to which they respectively belong, under the direction of the 
J udge-Advocate-General. 

* * -X- 


Act of March 3, 1863 (12 Stats., 7Jf3). 

AN ACT for enrolling and calling out the national forces and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 28. That the judge-advocate shall have power to appoint a 
reporter, whose duty it shall be to record the proceedings of and testi¬ 
mony taken before military courts, instead of the judge-advocate. 


Act of 2[arch 3, 1863 (12 Stats., 7Jt-Jt). 


AN ACT inaking appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and for the vear ending 
the 30 (th) of June, 1863, and for other purposes. 


^ Sec. 25. That every judge-advocate of a court-martial or court of 
inquiry hereafter to be constituted shall have power to issue the like 
process to compel witnesses to appear and testifv which courts of 
criminal jurisdiction within the State, Territory,*^ or district where 
such military courts shall be ordered to sit mav lawfully issue 


131 


THE judge-advocate-general’s DEPARTMENT. 

Acl of June 20th, 186^ {IS Stats,, lU). 

AN ACT to increase the pay of soldiers in the United States Army, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That there shall be attached to, and made a part of, the War 
Department, during the continuance of the present rebellion, a bureau, 
to be known as the Bureau of Military Justice, to which shall be 
returned for revision the records and proceedings of all the courts- 
martial, courts of inquiry, and military commissions of the armies of 
the United States, and in which a record shall be kept of all proceed¬ 
ings had thereupon. 

Sec. 6 . That the President shall appoint, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, as the head of said Bureau, a Judge-Advocate- 
General, with the rank, pay, and allowances of a brigadier-general, 
and an Assistant Judge-Advocate-General with the rank, pay, and 
allowances of a colonel of cavalry. And the said Judge-Advocate- 
General and his assistant shall receive, revise, and have recorded the 
proceedings of the courts-martial, courts of inquiry, and military com¬ 
missions of the armies of the United States and perform such other 
duties as have heretofore been performed by the Judge-Advocate- 
General of the armies of the United States. 

* * * 

Act of July 28, 1866 {U Stats., 3S2). 

AN ACT to in(:rea.se and fix the military peace establishment of the L"nite<l States. 
* * * 

Sec. 12. That the Bureau of Military Justice shall hereafter consist 
of one Judge-Advocate-General, with the rank, pa}", and emoluments^ipf 
a brigadier-general, and one Assistant Judge-Advocate-General, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry; and the said 
Judge-Advocate-General shall receive, revise, and have recorded the 
proceedings of all courts-martial, courts of inquiry, and military com¬ 
missions, and shall perform such other duties as 6ave been heretofore 
performed by the Judge-Advocate-General of the Army. And of the 
jiidge-advocates now in office there may be retained a number not 
exceeding ten, to be selected by the Secretary of IVar, who shall per¬ 
form their duties under the direction of the Judge-Advocate-Geneml 
until otherwise provided by law, or until the Secretary of M ar shall 
decide that their seiwices can be dispensed with. 

* * * 

Act of February 25, 1867 {IJf Stats., 510 ). 

AN ACT to amend section twelve, chapter two lumdred and ninety-nine, of the laws 
of the first session of the Thirty-ninth Congress. 

That the last clause of section twelve, of chapter two hundred and 
ninety-nine of the laws of first session Thirty-ninth Congress, approved 
July twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, is hereby amended 
by repealing all after and including the words “until otherwise pro¬ 
vided by law.’' so as to place the judge-advocates thereby authorized 
to be retained in service upon the same footing in respect of tenure of 
office and otherwise as other officers of the Army of the United States. 


132 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of Ajrril 10, 1869 (16 Stats., U)- 
AN ACT to declare and fix the status of judge-advocate of the Army. 

That the iiuinlier of jud^e-advocates of the Army be, and the same 
is hereby, fixed at eight, and tlie President is hereby authorized, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to fill all vacancies 
which have occurred or may hereafter occur therein. 

Act of June 9A, 1871^, (18 Stats., 9U)‘ 

AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 2 . That the Bureau of Military Justice shall hereafter consist 
of one fludge-Advocate-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
a brigadier-general; and the said Judge-Ad vocate-General shall receive, 
revise, and have ri'corded the proceedings of all courts-martial, courts 
of inquiry, and military commissions, and shall perform such other 
duties as have been heretofore performed by the Judge-Ad vocate- 
General of the Army. In the corps of judge-advocates no appoint¬ 
ments shall be made as vacancies shall occur until the number shall be 
reduced to four, which shall hereafter be the permanent number of the 
officers of that corps. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank oi‘ 
mustered out by reason of any provision of law herein made reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the staff. 

* * * 

REVISED STATUTES—2ND EDITION—1878. 

* * * 

Sec. IoDL. 'The Arm}' of the United States shall consist of— 

•X- * * 

A ibireau of Military Justice. 

Eight judge-advocates. 

* * * 

Sec. 1198. The Bureau of Military ffustice shall consist of one Judge- 
Advocate-Gencral, with the rank of brigadier-general, and one Assist¬ 
ant Judge-Advocate-General, with the rank of colonel of cavalry. 

Sec. 1199. ihe Judge-Advocate-General shall receive, revise, and 
cause to be recorded the proceedings of all courts-martial, courts of 
uupiirA, and military commissions, and ])erform such other duties as 
have been performed hei'etofore by the Judge-Ad vocate-General of 
the Army. 

Sec. 1200. There shall be eight judge-advocates of the Army, with 
the rank of major of cavalry. 

Sec. 1201. Judge-advocates shall perform their duties under the 
direction ot the dudge-Advocate-General. 

Sec. 1202. Every judge-advocate of a court-martial shall have power 
to issue the like process to compel witnesses to appear and testify 
Avhich courts ot criminal jurisdiction within the State, Territory or 
district where such military courts shall be ordered to sit may kw- 
tully issue. ^ 


THE JUDGE-ADVOOATE-GEHERAl’s DEPARTMENT. 


133 


Sec. 1203. The judge-advocate of a military court shall have power 
to appoint a reporter, who shall report the proceedings of, and testi¬ 
mony taken before, such court, and may set down the same, in the first 
instance, in shorthand. The reporter shall, before entering upon his 
duty, be sworn, or afiirmed, faithfully to perform the same. 

* * •55- 

Sec. 1342. . . . 

* * 55- 

Art. 90. The judge-advocate shall prosecute in the name of the 
United States, but when the prisoner has made his plea, or when the 
same has been entered by order of the court, he shall so far consider 
himself counsel for the prisoner as to object to any leading question 
to any of the witnesses, and to any question to the prisoner, the answer 
to which might tend to criminate himself. 

Art. 91. The depositions of witnesses residing beyond the limits of 
the State, Territory, or district in which any military court may be 
ordered to sit, if taken on reasonable notice to the opposite party and 
duly authenticated, may be read in evidence before such court in cases 
not capital. 

Art. 92. All persons who give evidence before a court-martial shall 
be examined on oath or affirmation in the following form: You swear 
(or afiirm) that the evidence you shall give, in the case now in hearing, 
shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help 
you God.” 

‘ * — * 55- 

Art. 113. Every judge-advocate, or person acting as such, at any 
general court-martial, shall, Avith as mu(*h expedition as the opportunit}^ 
of time and distance of place may admit, forward the original pro¬ 
ceedings and sentence of such court to the Judge-Advocate-General of 
the Army, in whose office they shall be cjirefully preserved. 

55- 5fr 55- 

statutes AT LARGE. 

Act of March J, 188S Stats. ^ 564). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers’ Home, located at Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

55- 55- 55- 

Sec. 10. That the board of commissioners of the Soldiers’ Home 
shall hereafter consist of . . . the J udge-Advocate-General. . . . 

55- 55 55- 

Act of July J, 1884 Stats., 113). 

AN ACT to consolidate the Bureau of Military Justice and the Corps of Judge-Advo¬ 
cates of the Army, and for other purposes. 

That the Bureau of Military J ustice and the Corps of Judge-Advocates 
of the Army be, and the same are her(‘by, consolidated under the title 
of Judge-Advocate-General’s Department, and shall consist of one 
Judge-Advocate-General, with the i-ank, pay, and allowances of a 
colonel; three deputy judge-advocate-generals, with the rank, pay, and 


134 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF V. S. ARMY. 

allowances of lieutenant-colonels, and three judge-advocates, with the 
rank, pay, and allowances of majors; the colonels and lieutenant-colonels 
to be selected by seniority from the present Corps of Judge-Advocates. 
And the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to detail such number 
of officers of the line as he may deem necessary to serve as acting judge- 
advocates of military departments, who shall have while on such duty 
the rank, pay, and allowances of captains of cavaliy. 

Sec. 2. Promotions in the eTudge-Advocate-General’s Department, as 
provided in the first section of this act, shall be by seniority up to and 
including the rank of colonel. 

Sec. 3. That nothing herein shall be construed to interfere with the 
rank or position of any officer now holding a commission in either the 
Bureau of Military J ustice or Corps of J udge-Advocates. 

Act of July 1899 {97 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT to amend the Articles of War, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That whenever a court-martial shall sit in closed session, the 
judge-advocate shall withdraw, and when his legal advice or his assist 
ance in referring to recorded evidence is required, it shall be obtained 
in open court. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 4. That judge-advocates of departments and of courts-martial, 

. . . are hereby authorized to administer oaths for the purposes 

of the administration of military justice, and for other purposes of 

militarv administration. 

* * * 

Act of April 99, 1898 {30 Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one judge-advocate, . . . who shall have 
. . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel. . . . 

* * * 

Act of March 9, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of . . . a Judge-Advocate-General’s 
Department. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the Judge-Advocate-General’s Department . 
shall consist of the officers . . . now provided by law: 

And provided, also. That no person in civil life shall hereafter be 
appointed a judge-advocate . . . until he shall have passed satis¬ 

factorily such examination as to his moral, mental, and physical quali¬ 
fications as may be prescribed by the President; and no such person 
shall be appointed who is more than forty-four years of age: Provided 


THE judge-advocate-general’s DEPARTMENT. 135 


furth<^^ Thfit in case of the appointment of an officer who has served 
in a similar capacity during the war with Spain, and has demonstrated 
his moral, mental, and physical qualifications for the position, then 
such an examination shall not be required. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in serv¬ 
ice or to appoint by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Five judge-advocates with the rank of major. 

* * * 

Act of Fehnuiry 1901 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of . , . a Judge-Advocate-General’s 

Department. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 15. That the Judge-Advocate-General’s Department shall con¬ 
sist of one Judge-Advocate-General with the rank of brigadier-general, 
two judge-advocates with the rank of colonel, three judge-advocates 
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, six judge-advocates with the rank 
of major, and for each geographical department or tactical division of 
troops not provided with a judge-advocate from the list of officers hold¬ 
ing permanent commissions in the Judge-Advocate-General’s Depart¬ 
ment one acting judge-advocate with the rank, pay, and allowances of 
captain, mounted. Promotions to vacancies above the grade of major, 
created or caused by this act, shall be made, according to seniority, 
from officers now holding commission in the Judge-Advocate-General’s 
Department. Vacancies created or caused by this act in the grade of 
major may be filled by appointment of officers holding commissions as 
judge-advocate of volunteers since April twenty-first, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and ninety-eight. Vacancies which may occur thereafter in the 
grade of major in the Judge-Advocate-General’s Department shall be 
filled by the appointment of officers of the line, or of persons who have 
satisfactorily served as judge-advocates of volunteers since April 
twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, or of persons from 
civil life who at date of appointment are not over thirty-five years of 
age and who shall pass a satisfactory examination to be prescribed by 
the Secretary of War. 

Acting judge-advocates provided for herein shall be detailed from 
officers of the grades of captain or first lieutenant of the line of the 
Army who while so serving shall continue to hold their commissions 
in the arm of the service to which they permanently belong. Upon 
completion of a tour of duty not exceeding four years they shall be 
returned to the arm in which commissioned, and shall not be again 
detailed until they shall have completed two years’ duty with the arm 
of the service in which commissioned. 


136 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 26. . . . That when vacancies shall occur in the position 

of chief of any staff corps or department the President may appoint to 
such vacancies, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, offi¬ 
cers of the Army at large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
and who shall hold office for terms of four years. When a vacancy in 
the position of chief of any staff corps or department is filled by the 
appointment of an officer below the rank now provided by law for said 
office, said chief shall, while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and 
allowances now provided for the chief of such corps or department. 
And any officer now holding office in an}- corps or department who 
shall hereafter serve as chief of a staff corps or department and shall 
subsequently be retired, shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allow¬ 
ances authorized by law for the retirement of such corps or depart¬ 
ment chief: Provided^ That so long as there remain in service officers 
of any staff corps or department holding permanent appointments, the 
chief of such staff corps or department shall be selected from the offi¬ 
cers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff' dut}^ If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number author¬ 
ized by law in anv grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until 
the number has been reduced to that authorized. 

* * * 


Act of March. 1901 (31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

Provided.^ That appointments to fill original vacancies in the lowest 
grade in the . . . Judge-Advocate-GeneraTs Department. . . . 

may be made from officers of volunteers commissioned since April 
twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. . . . 


V.-THE QUARTERMASTEH’S DEPARTMENT. 







THE QUARTERMASTER’S DEPARTMENT. 


The earliest legislation relating to the Quartermaster’s Department 
dates from June 16, 1775, when Congress resolved that there be one 
Quartermaster-General for the grand Army and one deputy under him 
for the separate army,” and Ma}^ 14, 1777, Congress adopted regula¬ 
tions for the guidance of the Quartermaster-General and his assistants. 

The resignation of General Mifflin (the first Quartermaster-General), 
November 7,1777, made the condition of that Department, without an 
ostensible head and with an organization to a certain extent defective 
and incomplete, a subject of much solicitude to General Washington. 

February 5,1778, Congress adopted the following plan for carrying 
into execution the business of the Quartermaster’s Department: 

First. The military line to be styled the Quartermaster-General’s, 
which is to include the regulating of marches, encampments, order of 
battle, etc., as described in the books of the profession. This officer 
not to have the disposal of public money, except small occasional sums 
for defraying petty expenses in the Army. 

Second. The commissary of forage, who is to be confined to that 
article in his purchases. 

Third. The commissary for horses and wagons. 

Fourth. The agents for the purchase of tents, entrenching tools, 
building of barracks, and for all the smaller supplies of the Depart¬ 
ment. 

The three last to be governed in their purchases by the estimates 
and orders of the Quartermaster-General or the Board of War. 

April 17, 1779, the Quartermaster-General was directed to estab¬ 
lish regulations for the conduct, mustering, and paying of a corps of 
wagoners. 

July 15, 1780, Congress resolved that there be one Quartermaster- 
General and one assistant quartermaster-general, to be appointed by 
Congress, and one deputy quartermaster for each army, to be appointed 
by the Quartermaster-General, and promulgated a code of regulations 
for the government of the Quartermaster’s Department. 

eJuly 25, 1785, the ‘‘Department of Quartermaster-General” ceased 
to exist. 

The Quartermaster’s Department, eo nomine, was first organized 
under the act of March 28, 1812. Under its provisions the office of 
“purveyor of public supplies” was abolished and its duties divided 
between the Quartermaster’s and the Purchasing Departments. 

The Army Register of May 1, 1813, under authority of the act of 
March 3, same year, defined the respective duties of the Quartermas¬ 
ter’s and the Purchasing Departments in reference to purchases so as 
to commit to the former the purchase of forage, fuel, soldiers’ bedding, 

139 



140 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEV OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


stationery, dragoon and artillery horses, means of transportation, and 
material for the construction and repair of barracks, hospitals, and 
bridges. 

The act of May 18, 182(), made it the duty of the Quartermaster’s 
Department to receive from the Purchasing Department and distribute 
to the Army all clothing and camp and garrison equipage. The abol¬ 
ishment, by the act of August 23, 1842, of the office of Commissary- 
General of Purchases devolved the purchase of clothing upon the 
Quaidermaster’s Department. 

Aiig. 14,1775.—Col. Thomas Mifflin (Pennsylvania). 

June 5,1776.—Col. Stephen iMoylan (Pennsylvania). 

Oct. 1,1776.—Brig. Oen. Thomas Mifflin (Pennsylvania). 

Mar. 2,1778.—Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene (Rhode Island). 

Ang. 5,1780.—Col. Thomas Pickering (Massachusetts). 

Mar. 4,1791.—Lieut. Col. Samuel Hodgdon (Pennsylvania). 

Apr. 19,1792.—Lieut. Col. James O’Hara (Pennsylvania). 

June 1,1796.—Lieut. Col. John Wilkins, jr. (Pennsylvania). 

Tune 1,1799.—Maj. Gen. John Wilkins, jr, (Pennsylvania). 

Apr. 4,1812.—Brig. Gen. Morgan Lewis (New York). 

Mar. 21,1813.—Brig. Gen. Robert Swartwout (New York). 

Apr. 29,1816.—Col. James R. Mullany (New York), Northern Division. 

Col. George Gibson (Pennsylvania), Southern Division. 

Apr. 18,1818.—Brig. Gen. William Cumming (Georgia). 

May 8,1818.—Brig. Gen. Thomas S. Jesup (Ohio). 

June 20,1860.—Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (Virginia). 

May 15,1861.—Brig. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs (Pennsylvania). ■ 

Feb. 13,1882.—Brig. Gen. Daniel H. Rucker (Michigan). 

Feb. 23,1882.—Brig. Gen. Rufus Ingalls (Maine). 

July 1,1883.—Brig. Gen. Samuel B. Holabird (Connecticut). 

June 26,1890.—Brig.'Gen. Richard N. Batchelder (New Hampshire). 

Aug. 19,1896.—Brig. Gen. Charles G. Sawtelle (Maine). 

Feb. 16,1897.—Brig. Gen. George IT. Weeks (Maine). 

Feb. 3,1898.—Brig. Gen. Marshall I. Ludington (Pennsyl'-ania). 


THE QUAlM'EllMASTEirS DEPARTMENT. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

Jtme 16, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That there be one Quartermaster-General for 

the grand army and one deputy under him for the separate arm}^ 

That the pay of the Quartermaster-General be eighty dollars per 
month and that of the deputy forty dollars per month. 

July 17, 1775. 

Resolved, That a deputy quartermaster-general be appointed for 
the said [New York] department. 

Donald Campbell, esq., elected to that office. 

Ordered, That Mr. D. Campbell have the rank of colonel in the Army. 


July 19, 1776. 

Resolved, That the appointment of a Quartermaster-General . . . 

be left to General Washington. 

July W, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That the appointment of . . . wagon master 

and master carpenter be left to the Commander in Chief of the Army, 
who is to fix their pay, having regard to the pay they receive in the 
ministerial army and the proportion that the pa}^ of the officers in 
said army bears to the pay of our officers. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the . . . Quartermaster-General and every of 

their [his] deputies shall take an oath truly and faithfully to discharge 
the duties of their respective stations. 

August 9, 1775. —“Mr. John Goddard is appointed by the Commander in Chief 
wagon master general to the Army of the twelve United Colonies.” {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Cambridge .) - 

August 14, 1775. —“Major Thomas Mifflin is appointed Quartermaster-General to 
the Army of the United Colonies.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 
[May 26, 1776, he was appointed brigadier-general, and October 1, 1776, was 
requested to resume the duties of Quartermaster-General.] . 

August 16,1775. —John Parke, esq., was appointed an assistant to the Quartermaster- 
General. ( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 

September 22, 1775. —John Gizzage Frazer was appointed assistant to the Quarter¬ 
master-General for the district of Prospect and Winter Hill. {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Cambridge.) 


141 



142 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


September 23, 1775. 

Resol/eed, That a committee be appointed to purchase a quantity of 
woolen goods for the use of the Army, to the amount of hve thousand 
pounds sterling. 

That the said goods, when bought, be placed in the hands of the 
quartermasters-general of the Continental armies, and that the same 
be by them sold out to the private soldiers of said armies at prime cost 
and charges, including a commission of five per centum to the said 
quartermasters-general for their trouble. 

That the committee consist of five. 

The ballot being taken and examined, the following members were 
chosen: 

Mr. Lewis, Mr. Alsop, Mr. lYilling, Mr. Deane, and Mr. Langdon. 

October 5, 1775. 


Resolved, That Timothy Mattack, of this city, be employed as a store¬ 
keeper, and that the implements provided for the hussars, and the 
tents, and linen, etc., purchased for the Arnjy, be put under his care. 


JSfovemher 2, 1775. 


Resolved, That 3,000 felt hats, 3,000 worsted caps, 3,000 pair of 
buckskin breeches, 3,000 pairs of shoes, 3,000 pairs of yarn stockings, 
and 3,000 waistcoats, suitable for the season, be immediately purchased 
and sent to the Army, under the command of General Schuyler, to be 
sold to the soldiers at prime cost, including charges of carriage and 
five per cent to the deputy quartermaster-general, bv whom the said 
goods are to be sold. 

* -X- * 

R^olved, That as much duffels or kersey as will make three hun¬ 
dred watch coats be purchased and sent to General Schuj^ler with 
needles and thread,^ to be made into watch coats, and that these be 
charged to the Continent and kept for the use of the out centries. 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to purchase the 
foregoing articles. 

The members chosen: Mr. Alsop, Mr. Lewis, and Mr. Sherman. 

November 1775. 


Resolved, That it be recommended to the several legislatures of New 
England to empower the General to impress carriages, vessels, horses, 
and other things necessary, at a reasonable rate, for the transportation 
^or any part of it, or on any other emergencv, 
and that this power be deputed m writing, under the hand of the Gen¬ 
eral to the Quartermaster-General, or to any inferior officer, who are 
to be accountable for any abuse thereof. 

Cambridge ) [Ou.the rearrLgement of th^e Army Coloid S-S 

“nhe but waiverl f“stghUn 

Aowm6er ^ 1775—The Commissary-General to order all the horns of the bullocks 
^^10 Army to be saved and sent to the Quartermaster- 
General, who IS also to provide as many as he can get, and have the whole made into 


THE (il^AKTEKMASTER’s DEPARTMENT. 


143 


y^N^cmher mrj. 

Resolved^ That tlio troops iii the service of the Continent })e supplied 
Muth fuel and bedding at the expense of the Continent. 

Decemler 177C>. 

Resolred^ That tlie Quarterniaster-Ceneral have the rank of a colonel 
in the Arniv of tlie United Colonies. 

Fel>7'uarij 1776. 

7?6^.syV?vv 7, . . . That the appointments 1)}" General Schujder 

of . . . Gys])ert jMarselis, es(p, to be Imrrack master, 

and jMr. Philip Van Kennselaer, to be storekeeper at Albarn-, l)e con¬ 
tinued; and that General Schuyler be desired to inform CongTess of 
the proper salaries to ])e annexed to those offices. 

Febnuiry 20, 1776. —“As it is necessary tliat every regiment should be furnished 
with colours, and that those colours should, if it can be done, ])ear some kind of 
similitude to the uniform of the regiment to which they belong, the colonels, with 
their respective brigadiers and the ly IM. GenL, may fix upon such as are proper and 
can be procured. There must be to each regimentthe standard (or regimental colours) 
and colours for each grand division, the whole to be small and light. The number 
of the regiment is to be marked on the colours, and such a motto as the colonel may 
choose, in fixing upon which the General advises a consultation amongst them. 
The colonels are to delay no time in getting this matter fixed, that the Q. M. General 
may provide the colours as soon as possible.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge.) 

Marchs, 1776. —“The Q. M. General may draw the carbines out of the commis¬ 
sary’s stores, and put them into the hands of the carpenters, or such others, as he 
shall think will use them to the best advantage, taking care tf) return them when 
calledfor. AU arms in store, litforuse, may bedelivered out to the Adjutant-General’s 
order.” {Orders, General lleadqaarters, Cambridge.) 

March ^8, 1776. 

Resol red. That Mr. William Finney be appointed a deputy quarter¬ 
master in the Southern Department. 

May 7, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That a deputy (piartermaster-general be appointed 

for the Southern Department, to be employed in North Carolina. 

* * * 

Congress proceediMl to the election of a deputy quartermaster-general 
for the Southern Department, and the ballots being taken, 

Nicholas Long, es(p, was elected. 

Resolved, That Nicholas Long, esq., have the rank of a colonel in the 
CQ!itinental Army. 

Mag 11, 7776\—“His Excellency has been pleased to appoint Hugh Hughes, esq., 
assistant ({uartermaster-general.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Mew York.^ 


June d, 1776. 

Resolved, Tlvcittha . . . deputy quartermaster-general, . . . 

make regular returns and report to Congress, and to the respective 
officers to whom they are deputies, at least once a month, and that the 
principals also make returns at the same periods. 


144 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


That the assistant quarteniiasters be allowed captain’s pay. 

* * * 

Congress then proceeded to the election of an . . . and Quarter¬ 

master-General, to fill up the vacancies in these offices; when the bal¬ 
lots being taken and examined,. 

* -X- * 

Stephen Moylan, esq., was elected Quartermaster-General. 

Resolved^ . . . That Stephen Moylan, esq., have the pay of 80 

dollars a month and the rank of colonel. 

June 7, 1776, —“The honorable the Continental Congress have been pleased to 
appoint Stephen Moylan, esq., to be Quartermaster-General, in the room of Thomas 
Mifflin, esq., preferred.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Netv York.) 


July S, 1776. 

The Congress then proceeded to the election of a deput}^ quarter¬ 
master-general for the flying camp; and the ballots being taken, 

Clement Biddle was elected deputy quartermaster-general for the 
flying camp and for the militia of Pennsylvania and New Jersey ordered 
to rendezvous at Trenton. 

July 30,1776. —“The Quartermaster-General is to provide canteens as soon as pos¬ 
sible, and to have the water in the several works in ctasks examined, that there may 
be afresh supply if necessary.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 


August 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That the Quartermaster-General and deputy 
quartermasters-general in the several departments be directed to trans¬ 
mit weekly to Congress an account of the moneys they respectively 
receive from the Paymaster-General or deputy paymaster-general. 

That the . . . Quartermaster-General, . . . and deputy 
quartermasters-general be directed to make monthly returns, at least, 
of the stores under their direction and the distribution of them. 


August 17., 1776. 

Resolved., That Gustavus Risberg be appointed assistant to Clement 
Biddle, deputy quartermaster-general to the flying camp, and that he 
reside at Philadelphia. 

August 25, 1776. “Colonel Morgan Lewis is appointed deputy quartermaster- 
general of the Northern Army.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Ticonderoga.) 


Sej)temljer 12., 1776. 

Congress then proceeded to the election of sundrv officers; and the 
ballots being taken. 


. . . was elected . . . , and Morgan Lewis, esq., deputy 

quartermaster-general of the said army [in Northern Department]. 

September 14,1776. “ Capt. Brown is excused from duty, on account of assisting the 

Quartermaster-General.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 




THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


145 


September 26, 1776. 

liesolved, That the . . . Quartermaster-General and deputy 

quartermaster-general and their assistants in the several departments 
be directed to appl}^ to Mr. Mease for such articles of . . . camp 

equipage and other utensils which they may want to purchase in the 
State of Pennsylvania for the use of the Army. 

September 28, 1776 .—“Stephen Moylan, esq., having resigned his office of Quarter¬ 
master-General, Brigadier-General Mifflin is appointed thereto till the pleasure of 
Congress is known.” [Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October U 1776. 

^ Stephen Moylan, esq., having resigned his office of Quartermaster- 
General of the Continental Army, 

Resolved, That J^rigadier-General Mifflin be authorized and requested 
to resume the said office, and that his rank and pay as brigadier be still 
continued to him. 


October 2, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . The committee appointed to confer with Briga¬ 

dier-General Mifflin reported that upon the conference they find the 
following supplies will be necessary for the use and comfort of the 
Army, which ought to be procured as soon as may be, viz, 200 wagons 
with four horses each, 50 ox teams with 2 oxen each for various small 
services, 100 strong horses for the artillery, 50 horses for expresses 
and commissary uses, 25,000 bushels of Indian corn, 15,000 bushels of 
oats, 10,000 bushels of rye meal, 10,000 bushels of spelts, 1,800 tons of 
hay, 50 cutting boxes, 2,000 axes, 2,000 wheel and hand barrows, 8,000 
cords of wood, a set of carpenters’ tools for each regiment, a wagon- 
master and one deputy, 20 conductors of wagons on captains’ pay, 
allowing 10 wagons for each conductor, 5 conductors for artillery, 100 
casks of nails and spikes, 10,000 knapsacks, 10,000 camp kettles, two 
million feet of boards, planks, and joists, for barracks, platforms, &c. 

That a company of 50 blacksmiths should be immediately sent to 
camp, 12 harness and collar makers, and 25 wheelwrights. 

Resolved, . . . That one-eighth part of a dollar over and above 

their soldiers’ pay be allowed to such persons as are necessarily 
draughted for quartermasters’ uses; 

That as 5,000 tents will be necessary for the spring campaign they 
be provided in due time; 

That it be recommended to the several States to make legal provi¬ 
sion to compel the furnishing of necessary supplies and assistance to 
the Quartermaster-General of the Continental Army on reasonable 
terms for the public use. 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to consider of a 
plan for providing carriages for the public service, so as any demands 
may be speedily complied with, and all oppression of private persons 
efiectually prevented. 

The members chosen, Mr. Witherspoon, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Hunt¬ 
ington. 

Octobers, 1776.—'The. Quartermaster-General is to use the greatest diligence in 
providing straw for the accommodation of the troops.” [Orders, General Headquar- 
ters, HaHem Heights.) 


S. Doc. 229-10 



146 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

October 10, 1776. 

Resolved, That the quartermasters in every department be ordered 
to avoid pressing horses and carriages as much as possible; and, when 
it is necessary, that they be directed to go to the country houses for 
that purpose; and discharge, as soon as the service will admit, such 
horses and carriages so impressed; and that no violence whatever be 
done to any persons, their horses, or carriages, who go to the camp of 
their own accord to sell provisions or other necessaries of any kind. 

October 15, i77(5.—Deputy Quartermaster-General William Davies, resigned. 


October U, 1776. 

Eesolred, . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the staff in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows: ... 

To the . . . deputy quartermaster-general, 6 rations. 

October 1776. 

The secret committee reported that the cargo lately arrived at 
Portsmouth in the brig Marquis of Kildare, Captain Palmer, consists 
of the following articles, viz, . . . 4,000 yards of small canvas; 

. '. . whereupon 

Resol/oed, . . . That the remainder of the canvas [part of it 
had been allotted for use of the frigate Kawley] be made into tents 
and sent to the northern army. 

October <28, 1776. 

Congress being informed that a vessel from London to Quebec, 
loaded with dry goods, among which are a quantity of blankets and 
coarse cloths fit for soldiers’ clothing, was lately taken and brought to 
Rhode Island, 

Resohied, That Governor Cooke be requested immediately to pur¬ 
chase at Continental expense, for the use of the Army under General 
Washington, all the said blankets and cloths; that the blankets be sent 
to General Washington, and the cloths made up agreeable to the 
direction of Brigadier-General Mifflin, Quartermaster-General. 

November J^, 1776. 

Resolved, That the wagon-master-general be directed to take charge 
of the horses belonging to the continent and prepare them for service 
as soon as possible. 

November 22, 1776 .— Messrs. Paca of Maryland, Ross of Pennsylvania, and Wither¬ 
spoon of New Jersey were constituted a committee to repair to General Washing¬ 
ton’s headquarters to confer with and assist him in improving the present state of the 
Army, which, owing to past and future disbandments, may be met by a largely 
superior force. 

November 27, 1776. 

A letter from Mr. Ross, Mr. Paca, and Mr. Witherspoon^was read, 
informing that they have appointed an assistant quartermaster, . . . 
to provide for a number of sick and take care of the stores sent to 
Princeton. 

Ordered, That the President inform them that Congress approve of 
the appointments. 


147 


THE QUAKTERMaster’s DEPARTMENT. 

Niwembev 29, 1776. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be directed to provide, as soon 
as may be, . . . equipage for 3,000 horse. 

JSrovember 30, 1776. 

Resolved, the board of war be directed to purchase, for the 

public service, six wagons, with four horses and proper harness to 
each wagon, and to employ suitable drivers. 

Dec&tnber 2, 1776. 

Resolved, That the board of war be directed to purchase, immedi¬ 
ately, ten or twelve covered wagons for the artillery. 

December 12, 1776. —Owing to the approach of the enemy, the Quartermaster-Gen¬ 
eral was directed to remove certain stores to a place of safety. 

December SO, 1776. 

FOR THE BETTER REGULATING WAGONS IN THE NORTHERN ARMY. 

Resolved, That two wagons be allowed to each company on a march, 
and one wagon to the colonel, one to the lieutenant-colonel and major, 
one to the staff of a regiment, and one for the particular use of the 
director of the hospital. Each wagon to be drawn by two horses 
(except that for the colonel, which is to be allowed four horses), and 
subject to such orders as shall from time to time be issued by the gen¬ 
eral or commanding officer. 

December 31, 1776. 

Resolved, That a letter be written to General Washington, desiring 
him to order . . . the Quartermaster-General to pursue the same 

mode (sending agents into each State) for procuring a sufficient quan¬ 
tity of tent cloth, and that they be severally directed to apply to the 
States to afford all necessary assistance therein. . . . 

January 1777. 

Resolved, That Gerard Hopkins, son of Richard, be appointed a 
deputy quartermaster. 

January 9, 1777. 

Resolved, That Udney Hay, esq., be appointed a lieutenant-colonel 
by brevet and assistant deputy quartermaster-general, and stationed 
at Ticonderoga. 

January 18, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the committee of Congress in Philadelphia 

be desired to inform the Quartermaster-General what number of horses 
and oxen in the public stables at Philadelphia are fit for service; 

That they employ a careful person to distribute in the country such 
of them as are disabled, there to be recruited in the cheapest manner; 

That the keepers of the continental stables admit no horses or teams 
to be received into or taken out of the same unless by order of a gen- 


148 LEGISLATIVE HISTOBY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

eral officer commanding in the place where the stables are respectively 
kept; or of the Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermaster-gen¬ 
eral, or wagon master or deputy wagon-master-general. 

February 4, 7777.—“The Quartermaster-General will, in future, deliver the following 
rations of provender for the horses employed in the service, viz, for light horse, 16 
lbs. of hay and 15 quarts of oats, or 6^ quarts of Indian corn or other gram in lieu 
thereof; for officers’ horses belonging to the foot, who are authorized to draw prov¬ 
ender, 14 lbs. hay and 6 quarts of oats, or 4 quarts of indian corn or other gram in 
lieu thereof.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

April 11, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the pay of the deputy quartermaster- 

general in the Northern Department be raised to 60 dollars a month, 
in consideration of the extraordinary trouble that attends the execution 
of the office in that department 

ApHl n, 1777. 

Resolved, That James Mease, clothier-general, be directed to deliver 
to General Mifflin, Quartermaster-General, or his order, all the cloth 
in his possession fit for tents. 

April 24, 7777.—Congress authorized General Washington to order General Mifflin, 
Quartermaster-General, to continue in Philadelphia for some time, if the public 
service would admit of his absence from the Army. 

May 13, 1777. 

Ordered, That the secret committee deliver to the Quartermaster- 
General the linen in their hands fit for tents. 

May U, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General of the Army be author¬ 
ized and empowered to appoint one commissary of forage for the 
Army, and one for each of the military departments thereof, with such 
and so many forage masters as he shall judge necessary. 

2. That the duty of the commissary of forage shall be to purchase 
such quantities of forage and store the same in such magazines as the 
Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermaster-general of any de¬ 
partment shall from time to time order and direct. That the com¬ 
missaries shall conform themselves in making purchases to such rules 
and regulations as shall be prescribed to them by the quartermaster- 
general of the department to which they shall severally belong. 

3. That all forage purchased by any commissary of forage and 
delivered into any magazine shall be received by the forage master 
thereunto appointed, who shall give his receipt for the same, specify¬ 
ing the sort, quantity, and quality, as a voucher for the commissary of 
forage, to be by him'^produced to the Quartermaster-General or deputy 
quartermaster-general of the department in support of his account. 

4. The commissaries of forage shall make a monthly return to the 
Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermaster-general of the depart¬ 
ment of all forage by them purchased, specifying to what forage 
master and into which magazine the same was delivered, that the 
forage master may stand charged therewith. 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


149 


5. No forage master to whose care any magazine of forage shall he 
committed shall issue any part thereof unless by a written order of 
the Commander in Chief, the comnuinder in chief of the department, 
the commanding officer of the post where such magazine may be estab¬ 
lished, the Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermaster-general of 
the department, or one of his assistants, the wagon-master-general, or 
any other wagon master; such orders to specify for whose use the for¬ 
age is intended; and every such order to be filed by the forage master, 
and a regular entry thereof made, in a book to be by him kept for that 
purpose, as a voucher for the expenditure of the forage by him received. 

6. The forage masters shall make monthly returns to the Quarter¬ 
master-General and deputy quartermaster-general of the departments 
they belong to of the state of their magazines, specifying the quantity 
left in store at the first and every succeeding return, the quantity 
received since the last return, the expenditure since such return, and 
what remains on hand. 

7. And whereas it frequently happens that there is a necessity to 
detain hired carriages, the owners whereof were to find their own for¬ 
age, far beyond the time for which the owners thereof agreed to serve, 
and who, if their own forage is expended, must have recourse to the 
public magazines, it is resolved that such* persons so detained and 
become destitute of forage shall, upon the written order of any of the 
officers mentioned in the fifth resolution, be supplied out of the public 
magazines, and the wagon master, before he signs the discharge for any 
such hired carriage, shall direct the forage master to endorse thereon 
the quantity, sort, and quality of the forage furnished such person, 
that the same may be deducted out of the wages due to the owner of 
such hired carriage; all which deductions shall, by the Quartermaster- 
General or deputy quartermaster-general of the department, be carric^d 
to the credit of the forage master’s accounts who shall have furnished 
the forage. 

8. If the commissary of forage in any department should be ordered 
to procure such large quantities of forage as to render it impossible 
for him to do it without assistance, the Quartermaster-General or 
deputy quartermaster-general of the department shall direct one or 
more of his assistants to aid the commissary of forage, pointing out 
the districts in which the}^ are severally to purchase, that one may not 
enhance the price by bidding above another. 

9. Whereas, notwithstanding the orders that have been from time to 
time issued by general officers of our Army to prevent the loss and 
embezzlement of intrenching tools and other military stores, great 
waste hath been made; to prevent which, for the future, it is resolved 
that every commissary of stores, storekeeper, or person to whose charge 
and care any military stores of what kind whatsoever shall be com¬ 
mitted, shall pass his receipt, and stand charged to be accountable for 
the same, and shall not issue any of them without taking a receipt for 
the same, the receiver promising to be accountable; and if any person 
having received any such stores shall lose or embezzle the same,’the 
commissary, storekeeper, or person by whom they were delivered shall 
charge him with the value thereof and transmit a copy of such charge 
to the Paymaster-General or deputy paymaster-general of the depart¬ 
ment, who is to charge the same to the paymaster of the corps such 
person may belong to, unless it shall appear that such loss happened 
without any blamable negligence or omission; and if such person in 


150 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

the continental service shall sell or otherwise dispose of any stores 
committed to his care without a written order for so doing, issued by 
the Commander in Chief or the commander in chief of the department, 
or by a general officer commanding at a separate post, he shall be 
punished for theft. 

10. The wagon-master-general of the Army, or wagon master in any 
of the departments thereof, shall receive from the Quartermaster- 
General or deputy quartermaster-general of any department all such 
horses, cattle, and carriages as the service may require; and neither the 
wagon-master-general nor any other wagon master shall on any 
account presume to purchase any horses, cattle, or carriages for the 
public service without the express order of the Commander in Chief, 
the commander in chief of the department, the Quartermaster-General, 
or deputy quartermaster-general of a department; nor shall the wagon- 
master-general, or any other wagon master, hire any horses, cattle, or 
carriages unless by the authority aforesaid or by that of an assistant 
dep uty quartermaster-general. 

11. The Quartermaster-General shall appoint such assistants and 
make such arrangements for conducting the business of his department 
as to him and to the Commander in Chief and commander of the depart¬ 
ments shall seem most conducive to the public weal; and a copy of such 
arrangements, specifying the names of the assistants, commissaries of 
forage, wagon masters, forage masters, and clerk of the several depart¬ 
ments shall be transmitted to the board of war; and every assistant of 
the Quartermaster-General of the Army, and every assistant of the 
deputy quartermaster-general of the several departments thereof, shall 
make monthly returns of every article of what kinds soever that may 
be in or at any of the forts, encampments, magazines, or places in the 
district, committed to his care, to the deputy quartermaster-general of 
the department, noting what is good, what is reparable, and what is 
unht for further service in separate columns; from which returns the 
deputy quartermaster-general shall make one general return, in which 
shall be specified the total of all the articles in eveiy district within his 
department, one copy whereof shall be monthly transmitted to the 
board of war, one to the commander in chief of the department, and one 
to the Quartermaster-General; from which returns the Quartermaster- 
General shall make out a general return, specifving what is in each 
department and every district thereof, one copy whereof shall be 
monthly transmitted to the board of war, one to the Commander in 
Chief, and one to the commander of each department. 

12. Ev^ery assistant quartermaster, commissary of forage, wagon- 
master-general, forj^e master, and every other person employed in 
the Quartermaster-General’s branch who shall neglect to make such 
monthly returns, shall be dismissed the service by the Quartermaster- 
General or the deputy quartermaster-general of the department to 
which such delinquent belongs. 

13. And in order that all deputy quartermasters-general and assist¬ 

ants may make their returns in such a manner as to avoid that great 
contusion which has heretofore arisen from a want of method, the 
Quartermaster-General is to furnish his deputies with a form, copies 
whe:^ot they are to deliver to the assistants and to every person in 
the Quartermaster-General’s branch, who may be called upon for a 
return. ^ 

14. The Quartermaster-General and the deputy quartermasters- 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


151 


general in the several departments shall have full power and be author¬ 
ized, with the consent of the Commander in Chief or commander of 
the department, to dismiss any person by them employed who shall 
refuse or neglect any duty enjoined by the foregoing resolutions, or 
any other duty he may be charged with, and to appoint others in the 
stead of such as may be dismissed. 

15. The general and Commander in Chief of our armies and the 
commander of any department thereof shall be allowed as mucn forage 
for their horses and those of their suit as the service may require. 

16. A major-general and a brigadier-general, not having the com¬ 
mand of a separate department, shall each be allowed forage for six 
horses for themselves, their aids-de-camp, or brigade majors, and 
servants. 

IT. The Commander in Chief and the commander in any separate 
department shall be authorized to allow such quantities of forage, and 
for and during such times as they shall think proper to the Quarter¬ 
master-General and his deputies, to the muster-master-general and his 
deputies, the chief engineer and his assistants, the commissary-general 
and his deputies, the director-general of the hospital, his subs and 
surgeons-general, to the adjutant-general and his deputies, to the 
colonels, lieutenant-colonels, majors, adjutants, quartermasters, and 
surgeons of regiments, and to provost-marshals, or to such and so many 
of the before-mentioned officers and their deputies as the service shall 
necessaril}" require: Provided always^ That if any of the officers above 
mentioned, their deputies or assistants, should be allowed forage in 
consequence of any general orders hereafter given and should never¬ 
theless not keep any or so many horses as they would be permitted to 
draw forage for, in such case no forage shall be issued for more horses 
than they really have, nor shall they at any time thereafter be allowed 
any forage as back allowance or any money in lieu thereof. 

18. A deputy quartermaster-general shall be appointed to each 
department and one to each grand division of the Army, the rank of 
the former to be that of a colonel, of the latter that of a lieutenant- 
colonel. 

19. The Quartermaster-General, with the approbation of the Com¬ 
mander in Chief or commander in any separate department, shall 
appoint a competent number of deputy quartermasters-general, a 
wagon-master-general, and so rnaii}^ wagon masters as the service from 
time to time requires, and make a return to the Board of War of the 
names of the persons so appointed. 

20. Resolved^ That Major-General Mifflin be allowed, for his service 
as Quartermaster-General, 166 dollars per month, in addition to his pay 
as major-general. 

That the pay of a deputy quartermaster-general of a grand division 
of the Army be 75 dollars per month. 

That the pay of an assistant deputy quartermaster-general be 40 
dollars per month, and that he have the rank of captain. 

That the pay of a wagon-master-general be 75 dollars per month. 

That the pay of a deputy wagon-master-general be 50 dollars a 
month. 

That the pay of the barrack-master-general be 75 dollars a month. 

That the pay of a wagon master or conductor of wagons be 40 
dollars a month. 

That the pay of a forage master be 40 dollars a month. 


152 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


May 14^ 1777. —Joseph Thornburg, esq., is appointed waggon-master-general.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown .) 

June 4, 1777. —General Mifflin wrote to Congress that General Washington had 
informed him of his anxious desire to have the heads of the several departments in 
the field with him, whereupon Congress adopted a resolve that (xeneral Mifflin be 
given leave to repair immediately to headquarters. 

June 10, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . XXIY. That no provisions be issued to any 

person ])ut by the written order of . . . the Quartermaster- 
General, ari}^ of his deputies or assistants. . . . 

* * * 

XXIX. That whenever an}" capital magazine shall be established, 
the Commander in Chief or commanding otBcer of the department 
shall order storehouses to be built and a barrack for fifty men, and 
the same to be inclosed with a stockade. 

•w * -X- 

XXXV. That the commissaries-general and the respective officers 
under them apply to the Quartermaster-General or his respective offi¬ 
cers for wagons, teams, and horses wanted in the several districts; 
and if at aii}^ time it shall be necessaiy to hire the same, they are not 
to exceed the rates stipulated by Congress or the Quartermaster-Gen¬ 
eral aforesaid. 

XXXVI. That all persons employed to purchase for the United 
States any articles in the several departments of the . . . quar¬ 
termaster . . . shall previously apply to them, or the principal 

officers under them, respectively, for certificates of the several prices 
by them allowed for such articles, and shall not on any pretence Avhat- 
soever exceed such prices. . . . 


June IS, 1777. 

Resolved, That Joseph Thornburg, wagon-master-general, have the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Army of the United States. 

July 1, 1777. —“Jonathan Mifflin, esq., and Henry Emanuel Lutterloh, esq., are 
appointed depifiy quartermasters-general for this army with the rank of colonel.” 

“Clement Biddle, esq., is appointed commissary-general of forage of this army.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Middle Brook .) ' 

August 1, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the Quartermaster-General l)e directed to 

appoint a deputy quartermaster-general in the said State [Georgia]. 


Axigust 6, 1777. 

Resolved, That John M’Coomb, of Princeton, })e authorized to act 
as quartermaster at that place for such detachments of the Army as 
may be passing that way until the Quartermaster-General shall give 
further directions on this subject. . . . 

September 10,1777.—The Quartermaster-General was ordered to submit to Congress 
a list of all deputies and assistants employed in his department and how and where 
employed. 

September 16, 1777. —The Quartermaster-General was ordered to remove to Bethle¬ 
hem, Pa., or some other place of safety, the stores belonging to his department ordered 
to, or deposited in, Trenton, N. J. 


153 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 

October 1777, 

Resolmd,^ That the . . . Quartermaster-General and their dep¬ 

uties, respectively, he directed to provide and supply, in the places 
where Congress may meet, such articles of their respective depart¬ 
ments as may be required by the several members thereof, for the use 
of themselves, their servants and horses, the said members paying the 
cost of the said articles; and that this resolution extend to the secre¬ 
taries, treasurer, and the officers of the several boards and committees 
of Congress. 

October 10, 1777, —On account of ill health, General Mifflin returned his compiis- 
sions of major-general and Quartermaster-General. 

November 2, 1777. —“The division and brigade quartermasters are to provide straw 
for the troops, taking none that ig not threshed.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Whitemarsh!) 

November 7, 1777. —General Mifflin’s resignation as Quartermaster-General was 
accepted, but his commission as major-general was returned to him without the pay 
annexed to the office, until further order of Congress. He was, same day, elected 
member of the Board of War. 


Noremher (?, 1777, 

Resolved,, That General Mifflin be directed, notwithstanding his res¬ 
ignation of Quartermaster-General is accepted, to continue in the exer¬ 
cise of that office, and that he be invested with full powers to act until 
another Quartermaster-General is appointed and enters upon the duties 
of the office. 

November 19,, 1777, 

Resolved,, That David Poe be appointed quartermaster for the town 
of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, in the room of and for the 
purpose for which Jared Hopkins, who declines acting, was appointed. 

November 22, 1777. —In view of the difficulty of purchasing any stores at reasonable 
prices, the several States were invited to adopt and enforce a temporary regulation of 
prices. 

November 24-, 1777. 

The committee appointed to prepare a plan for establishing a board 
to superintend the departments of the commissaries and Quartermaster- 
General report: 

That as a board of war, consisting of persons not members of Con¬ 
gress, has been lately established, and the late Quartermaster-General 
is a member thereof, the committee are of opinion that a considerable 
expense may be saved by adding to the board a person acquainted with 
the commercial business, and authorizing it to superintend each of the 
civil departments of the Army; Whereupon, 

Resolved, That Congress concur with the committee. 

November 26, 1777. 

Resolved, That Governor Caswell be desired to appoint proper per¬ 
sons within the State of North Carolina to purchase with secrecy and 
despatch all the merchantable leather and deerskins in that State proper 
for making . . . saddles, harness, and military accoutrements, 

. . . delivering the residue of the said leather [not used for making 

shoes and breeches] to the order of the board of war. 


154 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GEI^EEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


December 1, 1777. —Mr. James Yule was appointed wagon master tf) General De 
Kalb’s division. [Orders, General Headquarters, Whitemarsh, Fa.) 

December 18, 1777. —“The colonels or commanding officers of regiments, with their 
captains, are immediately to cause their men to be divided into squads of twelve, 
and see that each squad have their proportion of tools, and set about a hut for them¬ 
selves; and as encouragement to industry and art the general promises to reward the 
party in each regiment which finishes their hut in the quickest and most workmanlike 
manner with twelve dollars. And as there is reason to believe that boards for cover¬ 
ing may be found scarce and difficult to be got, he offers one hundred dollars to any 
officer or soldier who, in the opinion of three gentlemen he shall appoint as judges, 
shall substitute some other covering that may be cheaper and quicker made, and will 
in every respect answer the end.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, at the Gulph .) 

December SO, 1777. —“The Quartermaster-General is to delay no time, but use his 
utmost exertions, to procure large quantities of straw, either for covering the huts, 
if it should be found necessary, or for beds for the soldiers. He is to assure the 
farmers that unless they get their grain out immediately the straw will be taken with 
the grain in it, and paid for as straw only.” [Orders, General Headq'tjbarters, at the 
Valley Forge.) 

December 22, 1777. —“The quartermaster is to provide a number of pails, that every 
hut may have one.” [Orders, General Headquarters, Vail Forge.) 

January 6^ 1778. 

Resolved, That General Heath be directed to order the deputy quar¬ 
termaster-general in the Eastern Department forthwith to provide 
1,000 good bell tents, and send them to the Army under the command 
of General Washington. 


January IS, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That a deputy quartermaster-general . 

be appointed to act pro tempore for the troops aforesaid [from New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, con¬ 
stantly employed in Rhode Island for the defence of the State and of 
the Providence Plantations]; that the deputy quartermaster-general 
. . . be appointed by the officer commanding at that post [Provi¬ 

dence], and that each . . . take the oath of fidelity and office. ... 

Fehruary 3, 1778. 

And whereas many persons employed as deputy ... or quar¬ 
termasters, or in other civil departments, are dispersed in various parts 
of the continent, over whom neither Congress nor the head of their 
respective departuients can have the immediate inspection: 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the legislative and executive 
authority of every State to take effectual measures for preventing any 
person within their States from exercising any office in the civil 
department of the Army . . . under Congress who shall not, 

when thereunto required by any magistrate, produce a legal appoint¬ 
ment to such office and a certificate of his having taken the foregoing 
oaths or affirmations, or who shall neglect or refuse to take and sub¬ 
scribe the said oaths or affirmations within the time above limited. 

Februa/ry 6, 1778. 

^ Reserved, That the following plan be adopted for carrying into 
immediate execution the important business of the Quartermaster- 
General: 

1st. The military line to be styled the Quartermaster-General’s, which 


THE QUARTERMASTEK’s DEPARTMENT. 


155 


is to include the re^mlating of inarches, encampments, order of battle, 
etc., etc., as described in the books of the profession: 

This officer not to have the disposal of public money, except small 
occasional sums for defraying petty expenses in the Army. 

2d. The commissary of forage, who is to be confined to that article 
in his purchases. 

3d. The commissary for horses and wagons. 

4th. The agents for the purchase of tents, entrenchihg tools, build- 
in o-of barracks, and for all the smaller supplies of the department. 

Ihe three last to be governed in their purchases by the estimates 
and orders of the Quarterinaster-Generiil or the board of war. 

Ordered^ That the board of war prepare suitable regulations for the 
Quartermaster-General’s Department agreeable to the foregoing plan. 

February 6^ 1778. 

Fesolved'^ . . . That the Quartermaster-General and his deputies 

be respectively directed to provide the auditors in each army with a 
convenient house near headquarters, and that no other officers be quar¬ 
tered therein. 

That for the preservation of the public papers, the Quartermaster- 
General or his deputies shall provide for the auditors in each army 
a good covered wagon with horses, under their direction, . . . 

February 11^ 1778. 

Resolved., . . . The Quartermaster-General, his deputies and 

assistants, shall give the commissary-genei al |of military stores] every 
assistance of teams for the removal of public stores, . . . 

February 11^^ 1778. 

Whereas . . . the general assembly of Penns 3 dvania have, by 

a law, appointed commissaries in each county within their State, to 
purchase or seize . . . provisions, etc., for the supply of the 

Army, pursuant to such orders as they shall receive from Congress. 

Resolved^ . . . That the said commissaries deliver . . . the 

forage to the order of the commissary of forage or his assistants, to 
whom severally they are directed to send immediate notice, when such 
purchases are made, . . . 

Febr uary 1778. 

Resolved., That the committee of Congress at the camp, in conjunc¬ 
tion with General Washington, be authorized forthwith to make the 
proper appointments for the Quartermaster-General’s Department: 

* * * 

Resolved., That the Board of War immediately employ a suitable 
number of proper persons on the east side of Susquehanna to pur¬ 
chase . . . forage for the Army, . . . 

March 1778. 

A letter of Februaiy 25th from the committee at camp was read, 
proposing a new arrangement of the Quartermaster-General’s Depart- 


156 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


ment and commending persons to execute the l)usiness of the said 
department. 

Congress, taking into consideration the arrangement proposed by the 
committee, 

ResoUed, That the same be adopted, instead of that agreed to on the 
5th day of February, and that there be one Quartermaster-General and 
two assistant quartermasters-general. 

That these three be allowed for their trouble and expense one per 
cent upon the monies issued in the department, to be divided as they 
shall agree, and including an addition to the pay of the wagon-master- 
general and his deputy; 

That Major-General Greene be appointed Quartermaster-General; 

That John Cox and Charles Pettit, esqs., be appointed Assistant 
Quartermasters-General; 

That the forage-masters, wagon-masters, and other officers in the 
department be in the appointment of the Quartermaster-General, who 
is to be responsible for their conduct. 

Resolved^ That Major-G'eneral Greene reiain his rank of major-gen¬ 
eral in the Army. 

April 11, 1778. 

Ordered, That Colonel Cox, assistant quartermaster-general, employ 
a deputy to attend Congress and procure good stables and provender 
for their horses and proper persons to take care of the same, and that 
he receive from each member his just proportion of the expense. 

May 2, 1778. —Congress authorized the Commissioners at Fort Pitt, or, in their 
absence, the officer appointed to command on the western frontier, to appoint a 
proper person to perform the duties of quartermaster to the militia of the counties of 
Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Botetourt, Montgomery, Washington, and 
Greenbrier, Va. 

May 21,-1778. —General iVIiffiin was granted leave to join General AVashington’s 
army. 

May 27, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That the brigade quartermaster be appointed by 

the Quartermaster-General out of the captains or subalterns in the 
brigade to which he shall be appointed. 

* * * 

Resolved, That in addition to their pay as officers in the line there 
be allowed to ... a brigade quartermaster, 15 dollars. 

* * * 

Resolved, That ... brigade quartermasters heretofore ap¬ 

pointed from the line shall hold their present rank and be admissible 
into the line again in the same rank they held when taken from the 
line, provided that no . . . quarteiWster shall have the com¬ 

mand of any officers who commanded him when in line. 

May 29, 1778. 

Whereas Congress, in the present arrangement of the Quartermaster- 
General’s Department, have given the Quartermaster-General the 
appointment of the subordinate officers of that department; 

Resolved, That Udney Hay, esq., who, under the former arrange¬ 
ment of the said department, was appointed assistant deput}" quarter- 


THE QUARTEEMASTER’s DEPARTMENT. 


157 


master-general at Ticonderoga and a lieutenant-colonel by brevet, can 
not now hold that office by virtue of the said appointment, nor be 
entitled to any privilege or emolument which either does at present 
or may hereafter accrue to any officer of the same rank in the line. 

June 4, 1778. —Congress appointed Messrs. Carroll, Matthews, and Wentworth a 
committee to extracrt from the journals, for publication, the regulations of the 
Quartermaster’s Department. 

June 11, 1778. —Patrick Lockhpt, esq., was appointed to procure pack horses and 
other necessaries for the expedition to reduce the garrison of Detroit and compel 
terms of peace from such of the Indian nations now in arms against the States lying 
on or contiguous to the route between Fort Pitt and Detroit. The expedition was 
deferred by resolve of July 25, 1778. 

July 28, 1778. 

Ordered, That the Quartermaster-General furnish the Hon. the 
Sieur Gerard, minister plenipotentiary of his most Christian Majesty, 
with such and so many horses and such forage as he shall direct, and 
that he deliver, from time to time, special accounts of the prices of 
the said horses and forage to the board of treasury. 

August 12, 1778. 

Resolved, That every officer in the Army of the United States 
whose duty requires his being on horseback in time of action, and 
whose horse shall be killed in action, be allowed a sum not exceeding 
500 dollars as a compensation for his horse so killed, this resolution 
to have retrospect as far as the first day of May, 1777; and the Quar¬ 
termaster-General be, and is hereby, authorized to pay the value of 
such horses, not exceeding the said sum, to the respective sufferers, 
on the facts being properly authenticated. 

August 16, 1778. —“John Storey, esq., is appointed in the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment to receive and take care of all the intrenching tools.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters.) 

August 17, 1778. 

Resolved, That each officer in the department of the Quartermaster 
and Barrackmaster General attending Congress be directed, from time 
to time, to render to the several members accounts of the articles sup¬ 
plied them respectively, according to the cost thereof; such accounts 
to be paid to the paymaster of the board of war and ordnance. . . . 

August 17, 1778. —General Mifflin tendered his resignation. 


Segderriher 11, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That General ^Washington be informed that 

Congress have given orders for the purchase of 20,000 barrels of Hour, 
to be transported by water for that purpose; and that he be authorized 
and directed to fix on the places where the said magazines shall be 
established and to give the necessary orders to the Quartermaster- 
General . . . for carrying this resolution into execution. 

September 11, 1778. —Congress having approved General AVashington’s recom¬ 
mendation that magazines be established in Massachusetts and Connecticut, at con¬ 
venient places distant from the Sound, he was directed to give the necessary orders 
to the Quartermaster-General. 


158 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sejyteinher m, 1778. 

Besolved^ That the Quartermaster-General be directed to order the 
commissary of forage to give immediate directions to his deputies and 
assistants not to purchase any wheat for forage, except in the vicinity 
of camp, unless in cases of absolute necessity; and when such cases 
arise, that the reasons for deviating from this order be transmitted to 
the commissary of forage, and by him submitted to the opinion of the 
Quartermaster-General. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of purchases be directed to 
give orders to his deputies and assistants forthwith to deliver to the 
commissary of forage and his deputies the bad wheat and offals of 
wheat which they at present have or may hereafter have in their 
respective possessions; and, further, that the said commissary-general 
issue orders to the purchasers to be careful not to purchase in future 
damaged wheat, as the same is found by experience extremely injurious 
even for the purposes of forage. 

Resolved., That the Quartermaster-General be directed to consult 
with the Commander in Chief whether a reduction of the stationary 
teams can not be made consistently with the good of the service, or 
whether ox teams can not, in the present seat of wur, be substituted 
in a great measure for horse teams; and if General Washington shall 
be of opinion that both or either of these measures are advisable that 
the Quartermaster-General take measures for carrying the same into 
execution in such manner as shall be deemed most consistent with the 
good of the Army and a regard to public economy. 

October 1778. 

Resolved^ That it be earnestly recommended to the legislative or, 
when vested with sufficient power, to the executive authorities of the 
States above mentioned [New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela¬ 
ware, Maryland, and Virginia] to authorize and direct any civil mag¬ 
istrate within their respective jurisdiction, on an information given 
by the . . . Quartermaster-General, or by the deputy . . . 

quartermaster-general of the respective districts, of any extraordi¬ 
nary quantity of grain . . . being purchased and in the possession 

of individuals forthwith to issue his warrant empowering the inform¬ 
ant to seize the same for the public use, paying for the same such 
prices as to the respective legislatures appear proper, to prevent the 
practice of engrossing those articles in future, . . . 

October 13, 1778. 

Resolved, That Joseph Clay, esq., deputy paymaster-general in the 
State of Georgia, be empowered and directed to pay into the hands of 
the . . . deputy quartermaster, ... in the said States (they 

obtaining a warrant from the commanding officer in the Southern 
department) such sum or sums of money as may be wanting in their 
respective departments; . . . 

Resolved, That the . . . deput}^ quartermaster . . . in the 
State of Georgia, when they deliver their respective accounts of expend¬ 
itures to the deputy paymaster-general, do cause to be specified, on 
the receipts of the said accounts, that the same were paid in conti¬ 
nental currency, and that the sum be fully expressed in words. 


159 


THE QUARTEKMASTER’s DEPARTMENT. 

October 18, 1778. 

JResolved, That for the future no wheat be purchased for forage "by 
any person for the use of the United States unless Congress shall 
order otherwise. 


October m, 1778. 

Whereas upon the evacuation of this city [Philadelphia] by the 
British army, certain seizures were made of goods and effects, sup¬ 
posed to belong to the subjects of Great Britain, and other goods were 
taken up under contracts entered into with the inhabitants of this city 
by the officers, in the departments of the quartermaster . . . gen¬ 

erals, and a committee hath been appointed by Congress to examine into 
the conduct of the said officers in making the said seizures and con¬ 
tracts, that justice may be done to the public and individuals, but report 
hath not yet been made: 

Resolved, That the board of war direct such of the said goods, 
whether seized or contracted for, as may be wanted for the immediate 
use of the Army, . . . to be appropriated for that purpose; and 

that the board of war direct that proper accounts be kept of the goods 
so appropriated, the quantity and quality, and of whom seized, and 
with whom contracted for. 

November 10, 1778. —Congress, having resolved that speedy and vigorous measures 
should be taken to regulate the Quartermaster’s Department, appointed Messrs. 
Scudder, G. Morris, and Whipple a committee to superintend that department. 

November 17, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a . . . deputy quarter- 
master-general for the troops in the Southern Department, and the 
ballots being taken, 

. . . Stephen Drayton was elected deputy quartermaster-general 

for the troops in the Southern Department, they having been previ¬ 
ously nominated by the delegates of South Carolina. 

• November 19, 1778. 

Whereas it has become necessary not only that speedy and vigorous 
measures should bo taken to regulate the . . . quartermaster’s 
department, but also that a constant attention should be paid to those 
departments: 

Resolved, That Mr. Scudder, Mr. G. Morris, and Mr. Whipple be a 
committee to superintend the same departments and that they, or any 
two of them, be empowered to take such steps relating to the same as 
they shall think the most for the public service. 

November SO, 1778. 

Resolved, That in all cases when forage is wanted for the troops, and 
can not be purchased by the commissaries at reasonable rates, application 
be made to the executive and legislative authority of the State wherein 
the forage is required, or to some person or persons properly author¬ 
ized by them for that purpose, for their interposition and assistance in 
procuring the necessary supplies. 


160 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


January 23] 1779 .— General Washington was directed, June 11, 1778, to order an 
inquiry into the conduct of General Mifflin, late Quarteririaster-General, and others 
of that department. The Congressional committee (Messrs. G. Morris, Reed, and 
Witherspoon) appointed August 17, 1778, having reported that no proceedings had 
been had on the subject, submitted that if the resolve of June 11, 1778, was to be 
executed, the same should be done by a court of inquiry and court-martial l^e 
usual manner. Congress having agreed to the report, ordered that a copy be furnished 
the Commander in Chief. 

February 1, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Commander in Chief give such directions as 
he may think proper for arranging the . . . quartermaster’s 

departments to the westward, any resolutions of Congress notwith¬ 
standing. 

February W, 1779. 

Resolved, That the portmanteaus and valises furnished to the officers 
of the Army the Quartermaster-General, pursuant to the orders of 
the Commander in Chief, be charged to the United States, and the 
officers permitted to retain them for their own use; provided that no 
officer shall be more than once furnished at the public expense with 
the articles aforesaid unless unavoidably lost or taken by the enemy in 
time of action. 

February 20, 1779. —The quartermaster at the prisoners’ camp in Virginia was 
directed to reside at or near the barracks, and the governor and the council of Vir¬ 
ginia were requested to superintend the conduct of those in charge of the camp. 

February 25, 1779. —Gen. Thomas Mifflin resigned. 

March 5, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General . . . and such of 

their deputies as they shall appoint for that purpose be, and they are 
hereb}^, authorized and directed to pay all certificates (of the authen¬ 
ticity whereof they are or shall be satisfied) for . . . forage, 

. . . or other articles, within the lines of their respective depart¬ 

ments, furnished by the inhabitants to the troops on detachments, or 
in cases of necessity when supplies could not be obtained in a regular 
course; for which sums so to be paid they shall be allowed for their 
trouble one-half per cent, and no more. The evidence of such sup¬ 
plies being furnished shall, so far as regards the party of whom 
received, be the certificates of the officers receiving them. But the 
officers in the said departments . . . paying the same shall notify 

the officers who gave such certificates to render ah account of the 
application of the articles so received, and the said officers are hereby 
directed to render such accounts accordingly; and the said quarter¬ 
master . . . and their deputies so paying the said certificates 

are hereby authorized and empowered to examine and settle the said 
accounts. 

* * * 

Resolved, That certificates hereafter given by commissioned officers 
for articles received for the use of the Army be signed with their 
name at full length and the rank they hold, and if under a general 
officer, that the regiment to which they belong be added. 

That the particular articles received" be inserted in the body of the 
certificate; their value, the time when, and place where received in 
letters and not in figures. 


THE QUARTERMASTEK’s DEPARTMENT. 


161 


That the certificates be directed to the principal of the department 
whose duty it is to provide the articles so received or his nearest 
deputy; separate receipts to be given whensoever the articles apper¬ 
tain to the several departments. 

That officers keep exact copies of the certificates they give, and 
transmit other copies to the nearest deputy or agent in the depart- 
ment, giving him the necessary information respecting the business. 

That the^ deputies transmit copies of all the certificates they pay to 
their principals, that inquiry may be made whether the giving the cer¬ 
tificates was necessary for the public service and whether the things 
received have been properly applied. 

March m, 1779. 

UcHoloed.^ 

Tliat the . . . Quartermaster-General pa 3 ^ to the memorialists 

[merchants of riiiladelphiaj, from whom goods were taken for public 
use, the current })rice of the same at the time when the said goods were 
taken. 

2Iarch IS, 1779. 

Resolved, That the . . . Quartermaster-General be directed to 

lay before Congress, without delay, a full account of the sales and dis¬ 
tribution of the goods taken from the inhabitants of Philadelphia when 
that city was evacuated by the enemy. 

2larcK 16, 1779. 

Whereccs, discontent, loss of strength, and diminution of the strength 
of the line have arisen by employing the Continental troops as wag¬ 
oners, and it will be of public advantage to enlist proper persons for 
that service during the war: 

Resolved, therefore, That the Commtinder in Chief be authorized and 
directed to take proper measures for causing to be enlisted such a 
number of wagoners as he shall judge necessary for the service, to 
continue therein to the end of the war; that each wagoner voluntarily 
engaging for that period shall be entitled, in addition to the present 
inonthh^ pa}% clothing, and subsistence allowed to wagoners, to the 
same bounties, in all respects, as are granted to volunteers who shall 
enlist in the Continental battalions for the term of the war; that the 
Quartermaster-General shall establish such regulations for the con¬ 
duct of the said corps of wagoners as shall be judged expedient, and 
approved of by the Commander in Chief; in which care shall be taken 
that regular returns be made to the Board of War of the number of 
wagoners ordered to be raised, as well as of those who shall actually 
engage in the service; that the same form, as near as may be, shall be 
pursued in mustering and paying the said corps of wagoners as is 
practiced with respect to the troops of the line; that the Quartermaster- 
General be authorized to appoint a paymaster and muster master for 
the said corps of wagoners, and transmit their names, and the regula¬ 
tions hereby authorized to be made, to the Board of War, to be respec¬ 
tively registered. 

Resolved, That all warrant officers on the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

S. Doc. 229-11 



162 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

uiiyril 17, 1779. 

Besolved, That the Commander in Chief he authorized and directed 
to take such measures for enlisting a competent number of wagoners, 
to continue in service for nine months, or during the ensuing campaign, 
as shall by him be deemed most eflS.cacious and proper. 

That the wagoners so enlisted shall receive a sum not exceeding TO 
dollars per month, and a suit of clothes as a bounty. 

That such regulations shall be established by the Quartermaster- 
General for the conduct, mustering, and paying of the said corps of 
wagoners as shall be judged expedient, and approved of by the Com¬ 
mander in Chief. 

That all regulations made in virtue hereof, and the number of wag¬ 
oners enlisted, be, from time to time, returned and reported by the 
Quartermaster-General to the Board of War. 

Eesolmd, That the act of Congress of the 16th of March, on the 
subject of enlisting wagoners, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

A2)ril ^3, 1779. 

Resoh^ea, That the Quartermaster-General be empowered and 
directed to employ so many wagons as shall be necessary for the use 
of the Army, upon the best terms on which they can be obtained; pro¬ 
vided such terms are approved by the Commander in Chief. 

May 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That all deputy quartermasters-general who transact busi¬ 
ness upon commissions shall not be entitled either to pay or rations; 
but when they act without receiving such commissions, whether sta¬ 
tioned at a post or with the Army, they shall be allowed 200 dollars per 
month, two rations per day, and 40 dollars per month subsistence. 

That the jDay of an assistant quartermaster be 140 dollars per month 
and the usual rations and subsistence. 

That the pay of a deputy wagon-master-general be 100 dollars per 
month and one ration per day and 20 dollars per month subsistence; 
and that a wagon master be allowed 80 dollars per month, one ration 
per day, and 10 dollars per month subsistence. 

That a deputy commissary-general of forage attending the main 
Army, or attached to an army in a separate department, be allowed 
the same pay and rations as a deputy quartermaster-general acting 
without commissions. 

That the assistant commissaries of forage either attending the Army 
to collect forage on a march, or those employed in purchasing under 
the principal purchasers in districts, shall have the same allowance as 
the assistant deputy quartermasters-general; and the forage masters 
who attend the receipt and issues of forage at posts or magazines, and 
one with each brigade of the Army, be allowed the same pay and 
rations as wagon masters. 

May^, 1779.—The troops are to apply to the Quartermaster-General without delay 
for tents in the following proportion for each regiment: 

One marquee and one horseman’s tent for the field officers. 

One horseman’s tent for the officers of each company. 

One walled tent for the adjutant. 

One walled tent for the quartermaster. 

One walled tent for the surgeon and mate. 

One walled tent for the paymaster. 


THE QUARTEKMASTEE’s DEPARTMENT. 


163 


One common tent for the sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant. 

One common tent for the fife and drum major. 

One common tent for the noncommissioned officers of each company and one for 
^ery six privates, including drum and fifes. {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle 
Brook .) ’ 

May 26\ 1779. 

The board of treasury report that they have considered a letter from 
the board of war of the‘21st of May . . . and are of opinion— 

That Coloncd Melchior [barrack-master-general] be directed to dis¬ 
miss all his deputies not at this post and Chailottesville, and make 
report of the names and stations of the deputy barrack masters so 
to be dismissed to the Board of War, who shall issue orders to the 
Quartermaster-General to put the barracks under the charg’e of his 
deputies. 

Resolved., That Congress a^ree to the report. 

June 1779. 

Resolved., That the* Quartermaster-General be empowered to allow 
and pay for a wagon, driver, and four horses, 13i dollars, one ration 
and forage per day; shoeing the horses, if done at the expense of the 
United States, to be deducted from the wages. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to these States to exempt all 
drivers of wagons employed in the service of the United States from 
militia duties, and from all fines on that account, while they are engaged 
in the service, and that such service shall be considered and allowed 
as their tour of duty in the militia for such time as they are thus 
engaged. 

July 9, 1779. 

Resolved, That the executive powers of each State be earnestly 
requested instantly to make the strictest enquiry into the conduct of 
every person within such State respectively employed, either in the 
Quartermaster-General . . . departments, and in case of any kind 

of misbehavior, or strong suspicion thereof, in any such person not 
being an officer immediately appointed by Congress, to remove or 
suspend every such person, ordering him, at their discretion, to be 
prosecuted at the expense of the United States, and to appoint another 
in his place, if necessary, and so, from time to time, as occasion may 
be, giving notice to the board of war, and also to the Quartermaster- 
General ... in whose Department such removal or suspension 
shall be, of the change; the person so appointed to have the same 
authority and which the person removed had been vested with 
and entitled to, or such pay as the said executive powers, respectively, 
shall agree for, to be in like manner subject to the head of the depart¬ 
ment to which he belongs, and to observe all the regulations for the 
government of deputy quartermasters; . . . and that the execu¬ 

tive powers of each State be in like manner requested to enquire into 
the number of persons employed in the Quartermaster-General’s 
. . . departments, and immediately to discharge such as shall be 

judged unnecessary. 

August 17, 1779. 

Ordered, That two members be added to the committee for superin¬ 
tending the departments of the Quartermaster. . . . 

The members chosen, Mr. Root and Mr. Scudder. 


164 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Axuj'mt 18,1779. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the sum of 10 
dollars be paid to every noncommissioned officer and soldier nionthly 
for their subsistence, in lieu of those articles of food originally 
intended for them and not furnished. 

Sej)temher 6,1779. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General be directed to erect bar¬ 
racks at the expense of the United States for quartering the troops in 
the State of Rhode Island. 


8e])tend,er ^27, 1779. 

Resolved', That a member be added to the committee jippointed to 
superintend the Quartermaster . . . departments, and that 

another be elected in the room of Mr. Whipple, ivho is absent. 

The members chosen, Mr. Jenifer and Mr. Mercer. 

October 13,1779. 

Resolved, That Mr. Jacob Hiltzheimer be authorized and directed 
to provide for the horses belonging to members of Congress; that for 
this purpose the commissary-general of forage be directed to supply 
him with such articles of forage, and of such qualities" as he shall 
direct, together with the account of the cost thereof. 

November 5, 1779. —Messrs. Wynkoop ancl Forbes were added to the committee 
appointed to superintend the Quartermaster’s Department. 

Novemher 12, 1779.^ 

Resolved, That the eleven companies of artificers raised by the 
Quartermaster-General be reformed, and incorporated and arranged 
in such manner as the Commander in Chief shall deem proper. 

Noveinher 16, 1779. 

Resolved, , . . That the commanding officer of the corps of 
artificers shall be allowed the same pay and subsistence as a lieutenant- 
colonel. 

That the allowance of pay, subsistence, and clothing of the other 
officers and men of the said artificers be the same as that of the artil¬ 
lery artificers under the command of Colonel B. Flower. 

November 26, 1779. 

Resolved, . . . That all clothing issued to . . . enlisted 
artificers and wagoners, beyond those allowed to them as a bounty, 
shall also be valued and paid for at the rate before mentioned; but no 
. . . wagoner or artificer shall be entitled to purchase in any one 

> This entry refers to the corps of wagoners authorized by the resolve of March 16 
1779; these companies were to be considered part of the quotas of the 80 battalions 
apportioned in the several States. 




THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


165 


year, out of the public store, any other additional articles than those 
of hats, hose, shirts, and shoes, and not more of these than are abso- 
lutel}^ necessary, and not exceeding the number of the like articles 
allowed as their bounty clothing. 

That . . . nil clothing ... to wagoners [shall be issued] 

on the certificate of the quartermaster-general, one of the assistant 
quartermasters-general, or of the deputy quartermaster-general em¬ 
ploying them, or of the wagon-master-general or deputy wagon-mas¬ 
ter-general under whom they serve. 

That no . . . wagoner, not being engaged for at least one year, 

shall receive clothing, and if any such officer, artificer, or wagoner, 
being engaged for one year or more, after receipt of such clothing, 
shall quit the service before the expiration of the term for which lie 
or they are or shall be engaged, he or they shall forfeit and pay the 
fidl value of such clothing, and be subject to all other penalties and 
inconveniences attending his or their breach of contract or desertion. 
* * * 

7?6^tSY>ZmZ,That the departments of the quartermaster-general . 
be, for the future, under the superintendency and direction of the 
board of war, and that the committee of Congress on those depart¬ 
ments deliver over to the board of war all papers in their hands 
respecting them, and thereupon be discharged. 

N<n'iend>er 1779. 

Resolved., That the board of war be directed to procure from the 
Quartermaster-General . . . the forage master and the barrack- 

master-general a return of all the assistants, deputies, officers, agents, 
and other persons employed in their respective departments, the dis¬ 
tricts in which they are employed, and the terms upon which they are 
engaged, and that such returns be made by the first day of January 
next. 

Decefmher IJf, 1779. 

Whereas the aid of the several States is necessary in furnishing 
supplies for carrying on the war, and justice requires that 
they be called upon to furnish their respective quotas at equitable 
prices: 

Bmolved.^ That all the States shall be called upon to furnish their 
quotas of such supplies as may, from time to time, be wanted for 
carrying on the war; and in making the requisitions due care shall be 
taken to suit the convenience of the several States, and the articles by 
them respectively furnished shall be credited towards their quotas of 
the monies which they are called upon to raise for the United States, 
at equal prices for articles of the same kind and quality, and for others 
in due proportion, and the accounts shall be finally compared and 
adjusted so as tQ do equity to all the States. 

Decemher 17.^ 1779. 

Resolved., That when the legislature of any State shall have under¬ 
taken to procure its quota of any of the articles required, all pur¬ 
chases of such articles by the . . . quartermasters in such State 

be discontinued. . . 


166 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. 8. ARMY. 


January 7, 1780. 


Ordered., That . . . the hoard of war . 

discharge immediately the supernumerary officers 
master’s department. . . . 


. he directed to 
in the harrack- 


January 1780. 

Besolved^ . . . That the department of the harrack-master gen¬ 

eral he abolished. *. 

January 27,1780 .—Issues of quartermaster stores to members of Congress under reso¬ 
lution of October 2, 1777 ordered discontinued. 


February m, 1780. 


Resolved, That the several States he called on forthwith to procure 
their respective quotas of supplies for the ensuing campaign as follows, 
to wit: 

Rhode Island.^ ... 400 tons of hay. 

Connecticut. — . . . 500 tons of hay. 

Few YotI\— ... 500 tons of hay, 60,000 ])ushels of indian 

corn or other short forage equivalent. 

Nefiv Jersey.— . . . 3,500 tons of hay, 30,000 l)ushels of corn 

or short forage equivalent. 

Reniwylvayiia .— . . . 1,700 tons of hay, 200,OOi) hushels of corn 

or short forage equivalent. 

Delaware .— . . . 500 tons of hay, 18,662 hushels of corn or 
short forage equivalent. 

Maryland. — . . . * 200 tons of hay or corn hlade, 56,152 hushels 

of corn or short forage equivalent. . . . 

Virginia. — . . . 400 tons of ha}" or corn hlade, 200,000 hush¬ 
els of corn or short forage equivalent. . . . 

North Carolina. — . . . 800 tons of hay or corn hlade, 80,000 

hushels of corn or short forage in proportion. 

South Carolina. — . . . 800 tons of hay or corn hlade, 80,000 

hushels of corn or short forage equivalent. 

* * 

Resolved, That the articles aforesaid he collected and deposited or 
delivered at the risk of the respective States in such places within 
each State, respectively, as the Commander in Chief shall judge most 
convenient. . . . 

Provided, That such of the articles as shall he destroyed or taken hy 
the enemy, after being deposited as aforesaid, or which shall be 
damaged by long keeping, shall he paid for by the United States. 

Resolved, That the respective States he credited for all such commod¬ 
ities, being of good and sufficient quality, as shall ))e received for the 
use of the United States, by persons appointed to inspect the same, at 
the prices following, to wit: 

. . . clean, well-dried indian corn per bushel, one-half a dol¬ 
lar; oats, well cleaned, one half a dollar per bushel; . . . best 

upland first-crop hay per ton, $15; best indian corn blades per ton, 

$15. . . . 

Resolved, That all the accounts l)etween these States relating to 
their quotas of the supplies aforesaid shall be kept and finally settled 
in Spanish milled dollars, and the balance finally paid in specie. 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


167 


Resolmd^ That if it shall appear, on an adjustment of the quotas of 
the several States, that any State has supplied more than its due pro¬ 
portion in value, every such State shall he paid the value of the sur¬ 
plus, at the rates aforesaid, in specie, with interest at 6 per centum 
per annum, from the time each surplus shall have been deposited as 
above directed; and every State which shall have failed to supply its 
due proportion shall be charged with the deficiency, at the rates afore¬ 
said, and the like interest thereon, from the time that the same ought 
to have been deposited. 

Resolved^ That the several States cause monthly returns to be made 
to the board of war of all such commodities as shall be procured for 
the use of the United States, specifying the quantities issued in each 
preceding month. 

Resolved^ That when any State shall have taken the necessary 
measures for furnishing its quota of the said supplies, and shall have 
given information thereof to Congress, such State be authorized to 
carry into efi'ect the resolution of the ITth of December last, for dis¬ 
continuing purchases of such supplies, by the . . . quarter¬ 

masters within the same. 

Resolved^ . . . That the provisions furnished by authority of 

any State, for the use of the Army, since the first day of December 
last may l)e credited as part of the quota of supplies assigned to such 
State, at the prices fixed in the foregoing resolutions, if such State 
desire it. 

March 8, 1780 .—“From the scarcity of forage and difficulty of obtaining the neces¬ 
sary supplies, the general calls for a strict attention to the order of the 8th day of 
December last for sending away from camp as many horses as possible. When hay 
(^an not be issued and the supplies of grain will admit of it, eight quarts of grain are 
to be issued daily for each horse, and when hay is issued, four quarts.” {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

July 15^ 1780. 

Resolved^ That there be one Quartermaster-General and one assistant 
quartermaster-general appointed by Congress, and one deputy quarter¬ 
master for the main Army and one for each separate army, to be 
appointed by the Quartermaster-General. 

That the Quartermaster-General appoint one deputy for each State, 
if he shall judge so many to be necessary and the same be approved 
by the board of war, the person appointed to be approved of by the 
supreme executive of the State in which he is to be employed. 

That each deputy, whether appointed for one State or more, shall 
appoint as many assistants as the service may necessarily require and 
the Quartermaster-General shall approve, and a return of such appoint¬ 
ments shall be immediately made to the board of war by the Quarter¬ 
master-General. 

That all storekeepers, contractors, clerks, conductors, artificers, and 
laborers, of whatever denomination, who may be found necessary for 
the well conducting the public business be appointed by the deputies 
in their respective districts, and that they employ them in such num¬ 
bers, for such time, and at such places as the service may require and 
on such conditions as shall be most for the benefit of the public; never¬ 
theless, if they are agreed with or continue in service for any longer 
time than two months, the conditions are to be approved by the 
Quartermaster-General. 

That the duty of a deputy quartermaster for a State shall be to pro- 


168 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


vide the means of transportation in such State for all public property 
agreeably to the orders he may receive from the Commander in Chief, 
the board of war, the Quartermaster-General, or the officer command¬ 
ing in the State, to provide such storehouses as may be necessary for the 
preservation of the public property, and to appoint suitable storekeep¬ 
ers, properly instructed, to account in the best manner the nature of 
the business will admit, agreeably to such plans as the Quartermaster- 
General may prescribe, for all articles received, whether provided by 
the State in the State or received from another State, taking care 
always to note deficiencies and to reject such as are deficient in qual¬ 
ity, whether provided by the State or in any other manner within the 
State; but if the parties are dissatisfied, the storekeeper and the per¬ 
son or persons so tendering the goods shall each nominate three of the 
most reputable freeholders in the vicinity of the place where the goods 
are to be delivered, the stoi’ekeeper to appoint one of the three nomi¬ 
nated by the person or persons ofiering the goods, and he or they, one of 
those named ])y the storekeeper, and if the two first can not agree, a 
third is to be chosen by lot out of the remaining four as an umpire, the 
arbitrators to be on oath and copies of their award to be delivered in 
writing to the parties, which shall be l)inding and conclusive; to keep 
proper registers of all persons, teams, pack horses, vessels, and craft 
employed in the dejxirtment, noting the manner and conditions on 
which the}^ sei’ve and whether the teams, pac*k horses, vessels, or craft 
are |)rivate or public property; to execute all orders, either for pur¬ 
chases or other purposes, whic-h he may receive from the Commander 
in Chief, the board of war, the Quartermastei*-General, or the com¬ 
manding officer in the State; to pay all officers in the dilferent parts 
of the State who shall be necessary to execute the business of the 
department and Avho have been approved as aforesaid; to give such 
instructions Avith respect to the management of the business as shall 
appear necessary to have it conducted Avith the greatest economy and 
order, and at the same time Avith that despatch which the service may 
require; to apply to the assistant quartermaster-general for such sums 
of money as the service may require, and to distribute the same in such 
proportion as Avill best answer the purpose; to visit all the places of 
l)usiness of those serving under him as often as his other duties will 
admit, and see Avhether they execute their duty agreeably to the 
instructions they receive; to inspect their accounts, books of receipts, 
and issues, and to correct Avhat is amiss; to collect and render his 
accounts of expenditures and returns of public property and persons 
employed in the department eA’^ery three months, and to make return 
to the assistant quartermaster-general of all the issues that have been 
made, mentioning the articles, quantitv or number of each, on whose 
application or order issued, and to whom delivered; to see that all 
stores provided in one State to be forAvarded to another be carefully 
inspected, that the quantity and quality is agreeable to the order given 
before they are sent forAvard; to coniine all the contracts or bargains 
of the contractoi's and agents of every denomination Avithin the State 
to which they belong, to prevent one contractor interfering with 
anothei, to make such provision for wintering or recruiting public 
horses as may be necessary for the convenience and support of the 
Army, and generally to do and perform everything necessary to pro¬ 
mote the service. 

That the duty of the assistant quartermaster-general shall be to reside 
near Congress, to frame plans for keeping accounts in the department, 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


169 


and to accommodate them to the nature of the business in the best pos¬ 
sible manner for preserving regularit}^; and after the Quartermaster- 
General shall approve thereof, to transmit them to the deputies in the 
several States, as a rule for their stating and keeping their accounts, 
to be by them communicated to all their under agents; to receive from 
the Army and the districts the accounts and vouchers arising therein 
to the first day of December, and to lay them before the chamber of 
accounts for settlement by the first day of January; to apply to the 
Board of Treasury for such sums of money as the Quartermaster-General 
shall direct, and distribute the same as the several branches of the 
department ma}^ require; to make such remarks and give such direc¬ 
tions to the deputies in the several States as shall be found necessary 
for saving expense or preserving order in the business; to receive from 
the respecti^'e deputies, at the end of every three months, returns of 
all persons emplo}'ed, how, where, and on what conditions, and returns 
of all public property belonging to the department, and where depos¬ 
ited, made out in four distinct columns, one containing what has not 
been issued, another what is in use, the third what has been used and 
wants repairing, and the fourth what is unfit for further service and 
still of some value; these returns to be made agreeably to such forms 
as shall be furnished by the Quartermaster-General. 

That the returns be made to the assistant quartermaster-general in 
March, ffune, September, and December, and that the general returns 
be furnished to the Quartermaster-General as soon as possible. 

That the Quartermaster-General appoint one commissary of forage 
for the main army and so many deputies, forage masters, clerks, and 
laborers as the service may require and the Commander in Chief shall 
approve of; a deputy commissary of forage and as many clerks and 
laborers for each separate army as the service may require and the 
commanding ofiicer of such separate army shall approve of. 

That the duty of a commissary of forage and of a deputy commis¬ 
sary of forage with a separate army shall be to provide forage and 
pasture in the neighborhood of the camp, by purchase or otherwise, 
as the case may require, and to distribute the same; to correspond with 
the deputy quartermasters in the States in or near which the army 
may be and make seasonable requisitions from them for such quanti¬ 
ties of forage as the service may require, and to receive and issue 
the same to the army in such manner and proportion as is hereafter 
directed. 

That the wages of the people employed in the forage branch, as 
well as the pidce of forage purchased and hire of pasture as aforesaid, 
and all other contingent expenses of the department, be directed for 
payment to the Quartermaster-General’s pay office; that the commis- 
saiy of forage or his deputy certify the sums due, and that the same 
have been fully examined; that such orders or certificates for payment 
be presented to the auditor of accounts in the Quartermaster General’s 
office and pass from him to the pay office; but when from sudden move¬ 
ments of the army the certificates for pasturage or forage furnished in 
the vicinity thereof, signed by the commissary of forage or his deputy, 
can not be brought for payment to the Quartermaster-Generars pay 
office in camp without great inconvenience to the possessors of the 
same, such certificates shall be paid by the deputy quartermaster of 
the State in which the same shall have been furnished, the sums and 
articles furnished being inserted in words at full length; and to pre¬ 
vent frauds the commissary of forage, or deputy with a separate army, 


170 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

shall furnish the deputy (juartermaster of the State in which the ariny 
may serve with a list of the persons employed in the forage branch, in 
their own handwriting, and the printed form of certificates generally 
made use of by them. 

That the commissary of forage, or deputy with a separate army, fix 
upon such places for receiving and issuing forage to the army as shall 
best accommodate the service; and that written instructions be given 
to the keeper of the magazine of forage, how and to whose order to 
issue the same; that proper entries be made in a book, to be kept for 
the purpose, of all receipts and issues, and that the orders be numbered 
and filed to agree with the entries in the book. 

That the forage masters and keepers of the army magazines shall 
make weekly returns to the commissary of forage, or to the deputy 
with a separate army, of all forage received and issued, and of all 
pasturage made use of, and certificates given for the same; and that 
the commissary of forage, or deputy with a separate arm}^, shall, at 
the end of every four weeks, make returns to the Quartermaster- 
General, or deputy quartermaster with a separate arm}", of all the 
forage received at the magazines or collected from the country, and 
of the issues of the same; also of all certificates for pasturage or 
forage which have, within that time, ])een given for settlement at the 
Quartermaster-Generars pay office. * 

That forage for the wagon horses be issued on the returns of the 
respective conductors, countersigned by the wagon master or his 
deputy; and for other horses, on the order of the officers entitled to 
receive forage by virtue of these regulations;” and if any officer in the 
forage department shall issue forage in any other manner, or in 
larger proportions than is precribed in these regulations, he shall be 
charged with and pay the full value of such extra forage, and be dis¬ 
missed from the service. 

That there be no deputy commissary of forage or forage master 
appointed except for the main army, or a separate army, and that all 
forage which it may hereafter be necessary to issue at any post be issued 
by the deputy quartermaster of the State, his assistants, or storekeepers. 

That the deputy quartermaster of the State shall appoint the maga¬ 
zines or places at which forage shall be issued, and none shall be issued 
at any other; nor shall any forage be issued at such post to any officer, 
unless he certifies upon honor, on his return, that he is not on furlough 
nor absent from the army on his private business. 

That a ration of forage shall consist of Id pounds of hay and 8 quarts 
of oats for a saddle horse, and 16 pounds of hay and 12 quails of oats, 
or other short forage equivalent, for a draught horse, per da}'; that in 
cases where either of the above articles can not be furnished, a double, 
quantity of the other shall be considered as a complete ration. 

And whereas the great number of issuing posts established in these 
States have, by experience, been found very burdensome and expensive: 

Resolved^ That from and after the first day of August next no post, 
without troops there stationed, and in the continental service, shall be 
continued or established in any State at the expense of the United States, 
nor public provisions or forage issued thereat, but by order of the Board 
of War, the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a separate 
army; and such orders shall be given only in cases when, in their 
opinion, the obtaining provision or forage in any other way would be 
impracticable. 

And whereas it may sometimes happen that there is a necessity to 


THE QUAETERMASTEr’s DEPARTMENT. 


171 


detain hired teams, the owners of which were to lind their own forage 
and ])rovisions, l)eyond the time for whicli such teams were engaged, 
and who, if their own forage and provisions are expended, must liave 
recourse to the puldic magazines: 

Resolved^ That such teams, and their conductors and drivers, so 
detained and become destitute of forage and provisions, shall he sup¬ 
plied out of the public magazines, upon the written order of the officer 
by whose order they shall have been detained; and the wagon master 
or his deputy or other person under whose direction such teams be 
employed, before he signs their discharge, shall caused to l)e endorsed 
thereon, by the forage master and commissary, or storekeeper (as the 
case may be), the number of rations of forage and provisions furnished 
to suc h teams and their conductors and drivers, that the same may be 
dediu'ted out of the wages due to the owners of such hired teams; 
that, excerpting in the cases above mentioned, no provisions or forage 
be draAvn by any person not actually serving with the Army or some 
detachment thereof. 

That there be one wagon master with the main Arm}^, and as many 
deputies, clcu'ks, and conductors as the service may recpiire and the 
Commander in Chief shall approve of; that there be a deputy for eac'h 
separate army, with as many assistants, clerks, and concluctors as the 
same may re([uire and the commanding officer shall approve of. 

That the wagon master and deputy with a separate army shall keep 
an exact register of all ])ersons and teams employed with the army in 
his department, distinguishing by proper columns the i)rivate and 
public property; that he keep exact registers of all pay rolls, noting 
the time and conditions of payment; that in every pay roll the names 
and employment of every person be inserted at full length; and that 
the roll bo signed by the wagon master or deputy with a separate 
army, and then pass to the auditor of accounts in the office of the 
Quartermaster-General, or deputy in a separate army, and from him 
to the respective pay office. 

That the wagon master, or deputy in a separate arnw, give all the 
ordei’s on the horse yard for horses to ecpiip the teams, and orders on 
the store for harness; and every deputy or assistant receiving horses 
or harness upon such order shall be charged with the siime in his 
books, and be made to account by his weekly or monthly returns for 
the horses or harness delivered to him. 

That the wagon master shall make inonthl}" returns to the Quarter¬ 
master-General, or oftener, if re(pured, of all persons, teams, and 
horses '(‘m])loved in his dei)artment, noting Avhei*e and Avith Avhom 
serving, adding a column of casualties in Avhich to insert the deaths, 
stolen or strayed horses, and also the luirness that may be lost, and 
generally to inake such regulations for the government of the Avagoners 
as shall be best calculated to preserA^e public property, and to give 
them as a standing order to all the Avagon mastei's, the Quartermaster- 
General approving thereof; that the like duties be performed by the 
deputy Avagon master of a se|)arate arm3\ 

That the quartermaster have liberty, Avith the approbation of the 
Commander in Chief, or commander of a separate army, to take such 
and so many officers from the line of the Army to serve in his depart¬ 
ment as he ma}" tind necessary, and as are Avilling to engage in the 
business. 

That the Quartermaster-General establish a horse A;ard Avith the 
army for the purpose of receiving and issuing all public horses; and 


172 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF V. S. ARMY. 


that the yjersoii appointed deliver none from the yard ])ut by the 
order -of the Cominander in Chief, the Quartermastc'r-Creneral, or his 
deputy, or the wagon master. 

The same regulations to take place' witli a separate army. 

That an exact register be kept of the receipt and delivery of all 
horses, from whom received, to whom delivered, and liy whose order; 
and also of all horses that may die, lie stolen, or stray from the 
or that are ordered to be sold by the Quarterma'ster-General as unlit 
for further service; and that returns of all transactions of the yard lie 
made to the Quartermaster-Generars oliice monthly, and as much 
oftener as the Quartermaster-General may direct. 

Whereas it is necessary that every army should be limited in the 
article of baggage (this regulation being essential, as well as to save 
expense as to prevent the army from being embarrassed in its opera¬ 
tions), and that every ohicer should have only such a quantity of bag¬ 
gage as is essential to his comfort and appeai'ance: 

Rei«>lved^ That the following projjortion of wagons and bathorses 
l)e allowed to the dilferent ranks of officers, and no more, unless it l)e 
b}" order of the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a sepa¬ 
rate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many baggage 
wagons and bathorses as they may tliink necessary, to wit: 



Covered 
^-horse 
wagon. 

Open 

4-hor.'<e 

wagon. 

2-horse 

wagon. 

Bat¬ 

horses. 

Miij(>r-p’OTiprji 1 fiTid fjiTnily . 

1 




Hripiulii'r-frpTiprnl niid fiiniilv. . 

1 




CnloTipl luMilfiTumt-pnlniipl,n.Tul innjor. 

1 




Cajitiiins and subalterns of a regiment, for their baggage. 

1 




Surgeon, paymaster, adjutant, and 'quartermaster (regi¬ 
mental staff). 

1 




Brigade quartermaster. 




1 

Fo]^the tents of a regiment, for every 75 men (but this to be 
varied according to the weight of the tents and state of the 
roads). 


1 



Quartermaster-general, for his baggage according to his rank, 
for his books, papers, etc., as many as he shall find neces- 
sarv. 





Deputy quarterma.ster, with the main army, or with a sepa¬ 
rate army, for his books, papers, etc., as many as they may 
demand.. 





Commissary of forage with the main army. 

1 



Deputv commis.sary of forage with a separate army. 


1 

or 2 

Wagon master and clerks....*.j. 

1 



Deputy wagon masters with the main armv, each. 




1 

Deputy wagon master with a separate arn'ijq clerks and a.s- 
sistants.'. 



1 

or 2 

1 

Inspector-general, for his baggage according to his rank, and 
for his papers, etc.,according as the service may reipiircor 
Commander in Chief may direct.!. 



Subinsj)ector. 



1 

Brigade inspector. 



1 


Adjutant-general and a.ssistants. 

1 




Deputy adjutant-general with a separate army. 



1 


J udge-ad vdeate.“. 



1 

or 2 

Conimis,sarv of i)risoners. 



\ 

Deputy judge-advocate with a separate armv. 



1 

or 2 
or 2 

Deputy commissary of prisoners with a separate army ... 



1 

Provost-marshal with liis prisoners and guards.j... 


1 


A commissary and his deputy of purchases or issues. 

1 




A deputy commissary with a separate armv. 

1 

1 

or 2 

Field commissary of military stores and his deputy with the 
main army. 



1 

Deputy commissary of military stores with a separate army. 



1 

or 2 

Auditors of the main army, for their baggage, books, papers, 
etc. 

1 



Auditors for a separate army. 

1 



Deputy paymaster, either with the main army or with a sepa¬ 
rate armv. 

1 




Field postmaster. 




.. 

Express rider. 



1 


. 













































































THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


173 


Provided^^ That if the number of wagons, stated as above, should 
prove insufficient, the Quartermaster-General may occasionally furnish 
such additional carriage as the Commander in Chief, or commanding 
officer of a separate army, or the Board of War may direct. 

Whereas the business of de])uty quartermasters, serving in the dif¬ 
ferent States, may vary greatly from one another; and whereas that 
allowance which would be ample in some States would bo inadequate 
in others: 

Resolved^ That the Quartermaster-General bo authorized to fix the 
pay of each deputy to conduct the business of his department in the 
States according to the duties they have to perform, and the expenses 
they will be at in executing the same, so that the pay of no deputy 
exceed one hundred and thirty-four dollars per month, without provi 
sion or forage, always having regard to the merit and service of the 
person appointed, and which shall be approved by the Board of War. 

That the pay of the assistant deputy quartermasters ])e settled by 
the deput}^ quartermaster under whom they respectively serve, accord¬ 
ing to the duties they have to perform, and the expense they will be 
at in executing the same, so as the pay of no assistant deputy quarter 
master exceed seventy-five dollars per month, without provisions or 
forage, alwa^^s having regard to the merit and services of the person 
a])pointed, and which shall be approved of by the Quartermaster- 
General. 

That the pay of the officers in the Quartermaster-General’s Depart¬ 
ment, who are attached to the main or a separate army and move 
with it, be as follows: 

Quartermaster-General, in addition to his pay as an officer in the 
line, at the rate of one hundred and sixty-six dollars per month. 

Assistant (piartermaster-general, who is to reside near Congress, at 
the rate of one hundred and sixty-six dollars per month. 

Deputy quartermaster, thirty-five dollars per month, in addition to 
his pay in the line. 

Brigade quartermaster, twenty dollars per month, in addition to his 
pay in the line. 

Commissary of forage, seventy-five dollars per month, and two 
rations of provisions per diiy. 

Deputy commissary of forage, forty dollars pen* month, and one 
ration of provisions per day. 

Forage master, in addition to his JK 13 " in the line of the Arm^g ten 
dollars per month. 

Wagon master, sixtv dollars per month and two rations of provi¬ 
sions per chiy. 

Deputy wagon master, forty-five dollars per month and one ration 
of provisions per day. 

Assistant wagon master in a separate army, fort}" dollars per month 
ajid one ration of provisions per day. 

Conductor of wagons, when not of the line of the Army, thirW-five 
dollars per month and one ration of provisions per day; when of the 
line of the Army, twelve dollars per month in addition to his pa}" in 
the line. 

That the foregoing salaries be paid in specie or other money equiva- 
lent. 

Whereas, in order to prevent the unnecessary consumption of for¬ 
age, it is requisite to determine what officers shall be supplied with 



174 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


forage at the public expense and to fix the quantity that shall be fur¬ 
nished to each: 

Resolved^ That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon arid 
bat horses by these regulations there be issued to the Commander in 
Chief and to the commanding officer of a separate army and to those 
of their suite as many rations as the service shall require. 

To a major-general and family, seven; brigadier-general and family, 
sixj ..colonel of infantry or artillery, two; lieutenant-colonel, two; 
major, two; chaplain, one; surgeon, one; paymaster, one; adjutant, 
one; quartermaster, one; brigade quartermaster, one; captain of engi¬ 
neers, one; Quartermaster-General, as the service may require; deputy 
quartermaster with the Arm}", one; commissary of forage, two; deputy 
commissary of forage, one; wagon master and clerks, three; deputy 
wagon master, one; deputy wagon master with a separate army, two; 
assistant wagon master with a separate army, one; Inspector-General, 
agreeable to his rank; subinspector, in addition to what he draws in 
the line, one; Adjutant-General and his family, including what he may 
draw in the line, seven; deputy adjutant-general for a separate army, 
three, including what he may draw in the line; commissary of pris¬ 
oners, two; deputy commissary of prisoners with a separate army, 
two; deputy serving with the main army, one; judge-advocate, two; 
provost-martial, one; commissary-general of purchases, foui*; commis¬ 
sary-general of issues, two; brigade commissary, one; field commissary 
of military stores, two; deputy field commissary of military stores, 
one; deputy paymaster, one; auditors for the Army, each one. 

That the officers of cavalry be allowed to draw forage or pay for the 
same, under the like regulations as other officers, for the following 
number of horses, provided they actually keep the same: A colonel, 
three; lieutenant-colonel, two; major, two; captain, two; lieutenant, 
one; cornet, one; paymaster, quartermaster, and adjutant, exclusive 
of allowances as officers in the line, each one; surgeon, one. 

-X- -X- * 

That the Quartermaster-General take such measures for providing 
camp equipage and make such regulations for distributing the same as 
he shall find necessary and the Commander in Chief or the Board of 
War shall approve; and that he also take measures for engaging such 
artificers as the service from time to time may require, in addition to 
the regimental artificers, and as shall be approved by the Commander 
in Chief; and that he generally make such arrangements as shall be 
necessary to manage the business of the Quartermaster’s Department, 
either with the main army, a separate army, or detachment. 

That the Quartermaster-General or deputy with a separate army 
shall furnish such horses for special purposes and on particular appli¬ 
cations as he shall think the good of the service may require, and 
whenever any doubt arises that the matter be referred to the Com¬ 
mander in Chief or the commanding officer of a separate army for 
their instructions. 

That no purchases of horses or any other articles with the main army 
or in any of the States for the use of the Army in the Quartermaster- 
General’s Department be made unless by order of the Quartermaster- 
General or by a deputy quartermaster with a separate army or garrison. 

That the Quartermaster-General make returns to the Commander 
in Chief and Board of War, as soon as possible after they are deliv¬ 
ered in to him by the assistant quartermaster-general, of all officers 
and other persons employed and stores belonging to the department. 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


175 


and that a deputy serving with a separate army or with a garrison 
make retinms quarterly in the inontLs aforementioned, agreeably to 
the directions given to a deputy of a State, which the Quartermaster- 
General shall include in his general return. 

That all officers in the Quartermaster-Generahs Department, of 
whatever denomination, shall take the oaths of allegiance and oath 
of office prescribed by Congress before they enter on business. 

That, with the retufns before directed to be made of the name and 
station of each person to be appointed in the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment, there be also at the same time certificates returned therewith 
of their having respectively taken the oaths and qualifications afore¬ 
mentioned. 

That in settling the accounts of officers in the Quartermaster’s 
Department to be appointed by this act of Congress no pay or allow¬ 
ance whatever be granted to any person employed in that department 
whose name and emplo 3 unent, together with a certificate of his taking 
the aforesaid oaths, shall not be duly returned in the manner above 
directed. 

That the Board of War shall have power to suspeiid and dismiss all 
supernumerary officers thiit ma^" be employed in the Quartermaster- 
General’s Department. 

Resolved^ That Major-General Greene be continued in the office of 
Quartermaster-General; that he be, and he is hereb^^, directed to make 
the appointments and arrangements in the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment, agreeably to the foregoing resolutions, as soon as possible. 

Provided^ That nothing contained in the foregoing resolutions shall 
bo construed to annul the resolution of the 9th day of July, 1779, 
authorizing the executive authority of the respective States to correct 
abuses in the staff departments, or to vacate any appointment made 
or that may be made by Major-General Gates for the southern army, 
agreeably to the resolution of the llth day of June last. 

Resolved^ That it be, and it is hereby, recommendcM to the legisla¬ 
tures of the several States in which the Army may serve to make 
provision for furnishing the horses of the Army, or detachments 
thereof, with a sufficient supply of pasturage, and with such hay or 
forage as can be spared from the country in the vicinity of the Army 
or detachment thereof, the same to be settled and paid for by the 
Quartermaster-General with the Army or by the deputy in the State. 

July 20, 1780. 

Resolved, That Henry Hollingsworth,^ deputy quartermaster- 
general, be, and hereby is, suspended, and that some other person be 
appointed to transact the business of that department. 

July 2Jf, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the Quartermaster-General be directed 

ijimiediately to appoint such suitable person as shall be approved by 

1 Deputy Quartermaster-General H. Hollingsworth was suspended, one of the 
vouchers to his accounts having a forged signature, and August 8 Congress directed 
the Board of Treasury to inquire into the matter and report to Congress. On the 
report of the board, Congress resolved that the Board of Treasury refer the case to 
the executive of the State of Maryland and, on the report of one of the judges of the 
general court of that State, resolved, November 21, 1782, that the complaint be 
dismissed. 





176 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

the supreme executive authority of the State of New Jersey to act as 
deputy quartermaster in the said State, agreeably to the late regula¬ 
tion of the Quartermaster’s Department, in order that the measures 
therein provided for collecting forage and transporting provisions and 
other public stores may be taken as soon as possible. 

That, until such deputy is so appointed and approved, Moore Fur¬ 
man [deputy quartermaster] be authorized to receive from the State 
commissaries such quantity of forage, out of Mie supplies purchased 
for the United States, as may be necessary to enable hirn to forward 
the transportation of public stores; and that Governor Livingston be 
requested to give orders to the State commissaries to deliver the same 
accordingly, if such order shall be necessary. 

July <26, mo. 

Congress proceeded to the election of an assistant quartermaster- 
general, to reside near Congress, and, the ballots being taken, 

Charles Pettit, esq., was elected, having been previously nominated 
by Mr. Armstrong. 

August 5 , 1780. 

Resolved, That the absolute refusal of Major-General Greene, at this 
important crisis, to act under the new arrangement of the Quarter¬ 
master-General’s Department has made it necessary that the office of 
Quartermaster-General be immediately filled. 

* * * 

Resolved, 'unanimously. That Congress proceed to the election of a 
Quartermaster-General. 

Congress accordingly proceeded, and, the ballots being taken 

Mr. Timothy Pickering was elected. 

* * * 

Resolved, That Timothy Pickering, esq., having been appointed 
Quartermaster-General upon an extraordinary emergency, be con¬ 
tinued as a member of the Board of War, but that the exercise of all 
his powers at the said board, and his pay as a member thereof, be sus¬ 
pended during such time as he shall continue Quartermaster-General. 

That while he holds the office of Quartermaster-General he have the 
rank of colonel, and the pay and rations of ta brigadier-general, over 
and above the pay allowed the Quartermaster-General in the late 
arrangement of the Quartermaster’s Department. 

August 16, 1780. 

Resolved, That the assistant quartermaster-general be allowed one 
or more clerks, as the nature of the service may require and the 
Board of War shall approve. 

August 19, 1780. 

Resolved, That Major-Gen. Greene, late quartermaster-general, be, 
and hereby is, directed to furnish Col. Pickering, quartermaster- 
general, with returns of all buildings, vessels and craft, horses, wagons, 
stores and articles, of what kind soever, in possession or under the 


THE QUARTEEMASTER’s DEPARTMENT. 


177 


direction of any officers or persons employed under him in his late 
department, and which are occupied on account of or belong* to the 
United States; and also with full information in writing* of all public 
contracts and purchases by them made of which the terms have not 
been fully executed, or the services or articles contracted for or pur¬ 
chased have not been completely rendered or delivered; 

That in the meantime he direct all officers and others employed 
under him, on the demand of any deputy or storekeeper appointed 
under the plan for regulating the quartermaster-general’s department, 
deliver to such deputy or storekeeper, on their producing their 
appointments, respectively, and the orders of the quartermaster- 
general to receive them, all the articles before enumerated and any 
others in their possession or under their direction which are occupied 
on account of or belong to the United States, together with the written 
evidences of the contracts and purchases aforesaid which yet remain 
unexecuted. 


August 1780. 

Whereas it is of the utmost importance effectually to prevent the 
destruction, waste, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public 
stores . . . , upon which the existence of the armies of these 

United States may depend, and no adequate provision hath been made 
for the just punishment of delinquents in the departments of the 
Quartermaster-General, . . . ; therefore. 

Resolved., That every person in any of the said departments intrusted 
with the care of provisions or military or hospital stores, or other 
property of these United States, who shall be convicted at a general 
court-martial of having sold without a proper order for that purpose, 
embezzled, or wilfully misapplied, damaged, or spoiled any of the 
provisions, horses, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other mili¬ 
tary or hospital stores, or property belonging to the United States of 
America, shall suffer death or such other punishment as shall be 
directed by a general court-martial, according to the nature and degree 
of the offense, at the discretion of such court; and any person in any 
of the said departments intrusted as aforesaid, who shall be convicted 
at a general court-martial of having, through neglect, suffered any of 
the articles aforesaid to be wasted, spoiled, or damaged, shall suffer 
such punishment as the said court shall, in their discretion, direct, 
according to the degree of the offense. 

August ^S., 1780. 

Resolved., That no certificates issued in the Quartermaster’s . . . 

Department after the 15th day of September next afford any claim upon 
the United States unless issued under the following regulations: 

1st., That they be for services performed or articles purchased within 
their respective departments. 

2dly. The Quartermaster-General . . . shall themselves sign all 

such certificates as are issued in their respective departments. 

3dly. All such certificates shall be given for specie or other current 
money equivalent. 

4thly. All contracts or purchases made for which certificates shall 
be given shall be made for specie value. 

S. Doc. 229-12 



178 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


5th\j. The articles so purchased shall be enumerated in such certifi¬ 
cates, with the rates and prices thereof; and the prices shall be reason¬ 
able when the present circumstances of our affairs are compared with 
the cost of articles of like quality or services performed in the year 
1775, or when compared with the allowance by Congress to the United 
States, as expressed in their resolution of the 25th of February last. 

Resolmd^ That certificates issued under and agreeable to the fore¬ 
going regulations shall bear an interest of six per cent per annum from 
the time stipulated for payment until paid. 

Resolved^ That the Quartermaster-General . . . be, and hereby 

are, strictly enjoined to make monthly returns of their purchases and 
proceedings to the Board of War and make monthly returns, to wit, on 
the last day of every month to the Board of Treasury of all certificates 
so issued as aforesaid. 

August m, 1780. 

Resolved.^ That, all and singular, the creditors of these United States 
for supplies furnished the Army or the transportation thereof shall be 
entitled to receive the just value of the sums due them respectively in 
the bills of credit emitted pursuant to the act of the 18th of March 
last, the value of the sums due to be ascertained according to the cur¬ 
rent value of continental bills of credit compared with specie at the 
time the money became due at the place where the supplies were fur¬ 
nished; provided the same do not exceed the prices fixed for such sup¬ 
plies by the act of the 25th of February last or a proportionate value 
for services done and articles furnished not mentioned in the said act; 
but if the nominal sum in continental currency contracted for when 
reduced to specie value as aforesaid shall exceed the fixed prices afore¬ 
said, the creditor shall be entitled to receive the amount of the sup¬ 
plies furnished or services done at the said fixed or proportionate 
prices in the new bills aforesaid or the nominal sum contracted for in 
continental bills of credit, and no more, at his election. 

That the accounts being duly examined and adjusted by the ri4e 
aforesaid by commissioners that may be appointed agreeably to the 
resolution of the 12th of June last to settle the accounts of officers of 
the staff departments in the several States, or by the officer who made 
the contract, or by whorn^ the payment is to be made, the same shall 
be paid or a certificate given for the sum justly due, certifying that 
the same has been duly examined and adjusted agreeably to the direc¬ 
tions aforesaid, and if paid in the new bills the interest on the said 
l)ills shall be computed to the date of such certificate. 

That all debts due to the United States for monies received for their 
use or otherwise within any of these States shall be paid according to 
the just value of the money when it was received or became due, to 
be ascertained as aforesaid. 

August ^5, 1780. 

Resolved^^ That the Quartermaster-General be, and hereby is, author¬ 
ized and directed to make sale of all buildings and other property 
belonging to the United States under his care which, in his opinion, 
are not wanted for public use, and render an account of such sales to 
the Board of Treasury, that he may be charged with the money arising 
thereon. 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


179 


September 1, 17S0. —-Jac-ob Hiltzheinier -was allowed $40 per month from February 
16, 1780, for his serviee in i)rovi(iing for the horses under his care, and Congress 
directed that what was then, or might hereafter become, due to Ililtzheimer for keep¬ 
ing the horses be paid to him, and that he apply the same for defraying the expenses 
of keeping the said horses. [As the resolution ended by stating “any former resolu¬ 
tion to the contrary notwithstanding,” it is assumed tliat Congress meant to relieve 
the commissary-general of forage from supplying him with the necessary forage.] 

Sejdeniher 8, 1780. 

IiesoJred^ That nia<>'azinos of . . . forage for 15,000 men for 

0 months be immediately provided and laid up for the Southern Army. 

* * 

Resolved^ Tliat North Carolina furnish magazines of forage . 
to the utmost of their aliility, to be stored at sueli convenient places as 
to the commanding officer in the Southern Department shall appear 
most eligible. 

Sejytemher 1780. 

Resolved^ . . . The Quartermaster-General shall furnish all 
necessary books, paper, etc., for the [inspecting and mustering] 
department. 

Septemher SO, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the Quartermaster-General furnish the 
Hospital Department, from time to time, as occasion may require, with 
such a number of horses and wagons as may be necessary for removing 
the sick and wounded and for transporting the hospital stores; but 
that no other horses than those belonging to the officers of the depart¬ 
ment, for which forage may^ lie herein allowed, be kept separately and 
at the expense of the department. 

September 30, 1780 .— “As the direction of the waggon department is a charge of 
great importance (in foreign armies generally intrusted to a field officer of the line), 
and as it is thought the service will be benefitted by a similar practice in our Army, 
Major Cbgswell, of the First Massachusetts Regiment, is appointed waggon master 
to the main Army.” 

“Henry Emanuel Lutterloh, esq., is also appointed commissary of forage.” 

“The Commander in (diief takes this occasion to thank Major-General (lireene for 
the able and satisfactory manner in which he discharged the duties of the (Quarter¬ 
master-General’s Department during his continuance in office, and to express his 
approl)ation of his conduct and orders in the absence of the general.” {Orders, 
Oeneral Headquarters, Orangetown .) 

Octoher 10, 1780. 

It uppeuring that Lieutenant-Colonel Ternant had impressed from 
liim two good riding horses during the siege of Charleston, by order 
of the State of South Carolina: 

Ordered, That the Quartermaster-General furnish Lieutenant-Col¬ 
onel Ternant with two good horses, reporting their value to the Treas¬ 
ury Board, who are hereby directed to make the said State accountable. 

Octoher 21, 1780. 

Ordered, That John Bradford, continental agent at Boston, deliver 
to the Quartermaster-General or his order all the duck in his hands 
suitable for tents, the property of the United States, to be made up 
into tents for the Arm 3 \ 


180 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Noveynlyer 10^ 1780. 

Resolved^ . . . That the Quartermaster-General take immediate 

measures for removing all horses, the property of the United States, 
which, in the opinion of the Commander in Chief, can he spared from 
the Army, into some one or more of the said States where he can pro¬ 
vide the said horses with forage on reasonable terms. 

That if it be deemed preferable by the Commander in Chief that a 
proportion of the public horses should be disposed of for draft oxen, 
to be provided for the ensuing campaign, he be authorized to direct 
the Quartermaster-General to effect the same in such manner as may 
be most beneficial to the public service. 

That the Quartermaster-General immediately apply to the executive 
authority of the States nearest the quarters of the main army to fur¬ 
nish such quantities of forage as may he in their power, to enable him 
to lay up proper magazines for the use of the Army; and that he also 
apply to the more distant States to furnish the intermediate posts with 
forage for the purpose of transporting provisions and stores to the 
Army, and provide forage for the horses removed from the Army. 

Recemher ^5, 1780. 

Resolved.^ That Congress approve the appointment made by Major- 
General Greene of Lieutenant-Colonel Carrington to be deputy quar¬ 
termaster-general for the Southern Army. 

January 9, 1781 .—“All the tents of the Army are to be delivered to the Quarter¬ 
master-General, who will have them w'ashed, cleaned, and repaired. 8uch as are 
irreparable, or as many of them as will answer the purpose, he is to reserve, to make 
cases for the camp kettles, that they may not grease and injure the soldiers’ cloaths, 
as they will next campaign be obliged to carry their own kettles.” (Orders, General 
Headquarters [no place given '\.) 


January 1781. 

Resol/ved, . . . That the Quartermaster-General be directed to 

procure a sufficient number of horses to remount such of the cavalry 
as are destitute of horses, agreeable to the directions to be given by 
the Commander in Chief for the next campaign. 

Fehruary i20^ 1781. 

Resolved^ . . . That the deputy quartermaster in Pennsylvania 

be, and he is hereby, directed to put the wagons f)elonging to the l^enn- 
sylvania line in order for service ijinnediatelv. 

•X' -x- * 

Resolved., ThatdOO wagons be procured and furnished for the South¬ 
ern army. 

* * * 

Resolved., That the Board of War be, and hereby are, directed to fur¬ 
nish the Southern Army with . . . 860 tents. 

April 19, 1781. 

Whereas differences have arisen between quartermasters 
and persons claiming to be creditors of the United States, for articles 
furnished by or taken from them and for services performed by them 
for which no vouchers have been given or for which the voucher may 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


181 


be lost, or having vouchers it is doubtful whether the account can be 
adjusted in either of the departments of the Quartermaster-General; 
. . . to remedy which, 

Resolved^ That every such claim as aforesaid which shall have been 
submitted to the inspection of the continental commissioners for audit¬ 
ing and adjusting accounts, and by them certified, shall, by the quarter¬ 
master • . . be allowed and may be paid, or certificates given for 

the same, in like manner as is directed in the act of Congress of 26th 
August, 1780. 

April U, 1781. 

Resolved^ That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to remove from office or employment, for incapacity, neg¬ 
ligence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior, such persons, not immedi¬ 
ately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, as are or 
may be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the 
expenditure of the public supplies, stores, and other property; . . . 

and such of the said persons as are or may be in his judgment unnec¬ 
essary, reporting to such authority, board, minister, or office to whom 
it may belong to supplv the vacancy the respective names of the per¬ 
sons so removed. 

That he be authorized to suspend from office or employment, for 
similar causes, persons officially employed and entrusted as aforesaid, 
immediately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason for suspension: 

Provided^ That in all cases where any of the persons aforesaid are 
or may be amenable to the law martial, the superintendent be, and he 
is hereby, authorized and directed—if be shall deem it most expedient 
for the public service—to put them in arrest by order in writing and 
to apply to the officer whose dut}^ it may be to order a court-martial; 
and such officer is hereby directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingly. 

That in every case of suspension all pay and emoluments cease from 
the date thereof, unless the persons suspended be, upon trial, acquitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place when it may be necessary by a temporary appointment, to con¬ 
tinue until the person suspended be restored or dismissed. 

That the aforesaid powers shall not be construed to interfere with 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Army, or those who may be duly entrusted with money for secret 
service by Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or the 
commanding officer of a separate department. 

That the powers aforesaid be exercised during the pleasure of Con¬ 
gress, but not to extend beyond the duration of the war. 

Apr il m, 1781. 

Resolved., That the Quartermaster-General be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint Colonel Champion, of Newport, a barrack master 
to the French army, and to annex to that office a salary not exceeding 
the pay of an assistant deputy quartermaster. 

April 27, 1781. 

Ordered, That John Bradford, continental ag-^nt at Boston, deliver 
to the Quartermaster-General, or his order, all the duck in his hands 
belonging to the United States, proper for tents. 


182 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May 28, 1781. 

Ordered, That all the duck of whatever description belonging to the 
United States, in the hands of the continental agent at Boston, be 
delivered to the Quartermaster-General, or his order; that so much 
thereof as is suitable may be made up into tents, and the residue, 
except so much as is necessary for other^ uses in the Quartermaster- 
General’s Department be exchanged for light duck or other materials 
tit for tents, and the materials produced by such exchange be imme¬ 
diately made up into tents for the use of the Army. 

June 18, 1781. 

Resolved, . . . That the Commander in Chief ana the com¬ 

manding general in a separate department, respectively, be, and hereby 
are, authorized to direct what clothing shall, from time to time, be 
dealt out to the . . . wagoners, having regard to the nature of 

their service and the terms of their contract, and time for which they 
are engaged: 

That the Quartermaster-General, and his deputies in the several 
States, shall, on the requisitions of the clothier-general, furnish the 
means of transportation of all articles of clothing from the places 
where imported, received, or purchased to the places of deposit; and 
a careful wagon master or conductor, to be appointed by the Quarter¬ 
master-General or some of his deputies, shall proceed with the clothing, 
who shall be answerable for all deficiencies on the road, unless they 
shall be able to show that the same happened by unavoidable accidents 
and not through their misconduct or want of attention. 

That in case of injuries or deficiencies happening in the transporta¬ 
tion of clothing the clothier stationed at the magazine or place of deposit 
shall represent the matter to the nearest commanding officer of the 
troops of the United States, that the wagon master or conductor having 
had charge of the clothing so damaged or deficient may be tried by a 
court-martial and, if found guilty, compelled to restore the goods lost, 
or their value, or make satisfaction for damages accrued through his 
negligence or mismanagement, or be punished according to the nature 
of the ofl'ense by judgment of the court-martial. 

* * * 

That the Quartermaster-General or his deputy, on the application of 
the clothier-general or either of his deputies, furnish wagons for trans¬ 
porting raw or unmanufactured hides to such places as they shall direct. 

June 20, 1781. 

Resolved, That Charles Pettit, assistant quartermaster-general, be 
permitted to resign that office, agreeably to his request. 

That the office of assistant quartermaster-general be abolished; and 
that the duties of the said office be performed by the Quartermaster- 
General and his deputies under his direction. 

June 30,^ 1781. “Major Platt having resigned the office of Deputy Quartermaster 
to the main Army, Lt. Col. Dearborne is appointed in his room.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters \no place given '].) 

Julg 9, i7<?2.—“Captain Hasfield White, of the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment, is 
appointed deputy wagon master.’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, near Dobbs Ferry.) 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 

Juhj 10, 1781. 


183 


Resolved, That the superintendent of finance he, and he is hereby, 
authorized, either by himself or such person or persons as he shall, 
from time to time, appoint for the purpose, to procure or contract all 
necessary supplies for use of the Army or armies of the United 
States, . . . and also the transportation thereof. 

July H, 1781. 

Resolved, That John Storey be entitled to the same pay and rations 
for his services from the time of General Greene’s resignation as 
Quartermaster-General until the 21st of April last which he received 
or was entitled to receive when acting immediately under the said 
Qua r t(‘ r mas to r - G e n e ra 1. 

That the said fJohn Storey immediately repair to camp and there 
carefully transact and settle the business belonging to the late 
Quartermaster-General’s Department until the further order of Con¬ 
gress; and for this service he shall be allowed, from the 21st of April 
last, the pay and rations of a captain in the line of the Army. 

September 25, 1781. —“Capt.-Lieut. Miles is appointed brigade quartermaster to the 
artillery in the room of Capt.-Lieut.Howe,deceased.” {Orders, General Headquar¬ 
ters, Williamshurgh.) 


October 1781. 

Resolved, That letters to and from the Quartermaster-General be 
carried free of postage. 

Januarn 1, 1782. —“No officer except such as command corps in this city are in 
future to draw wood from the quartermaster, but at the end of every month each 
officer shall be paid for the wood he is allowed at the average price paid by the quar¬ 
termaster during that month.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Philadelphia.) 

January 10, 178^. 

Resol/ved, . . . The Inspector-General, or inspector of a sepa¬ 

rate army, shall be authorized to call on the Quartermaster-General, 

. . or their deputies for returns of the articles which have been 

issued from and returned to their several departments by each 

corps.* . . . 

March ij, 178^. 

Resolved, That so much of the resolution of the 30th of October, 
1780, as continues to Major-General Greene the power of which had 
been given to Major-General Gates, by a resolution of the 14th of 
June, in the same year, of appointing the officers in the Quartermas¬ 
ter-General’s Department for the Southern Army, be repealed. 

The resolution of the 15th of July, 1780, providing for the appoint¬ 
ment of one deputy quartermaster only for a separate army, and the 
southern services requiring an additional one: 

Reared, That the Quartermaster-General be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint, out of the line of the Army, an additional 
deputy quartermaster for the Southern Army, who shall be subordinate 
to and under the command of the other deputy quartermaster for the 


184 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

said army, and whose pay shall be the same with that allowed to the 
deputy quartermaster by the aforesaid resolutions of the 15th of July, 
1780. 

Resolved^ That the principal deputy quartermaster to the Southern 
Army be allowed, during actual service, 75 dollars per month and four 
rations per day, in addition to his pay and subsistence as an officer in 
the line, until the further order of Congress. 

Resolved, That the officer who has conducted the quartermaster- 
general’s department in the Southern Army since Gen. Greene has had 
the command thereof be allowed for his past services the same emolu¬ 
ments with those granted to the principal deputy quartermaster in the 
preceding resolution. 

* * * 

And whereas the business of the Quartermaster-General being con¬ 
siderably lessened by the present mode of supplying the Army in gen¬ 
eral by contract, and it being at all times proper to establish the pay 
and emoluments of officers, as near as possible, proportioned to their 
ranks and services: 

Resolved, That for the above reasons the pay and allowance of the 
Quartermaster-General be reduced from 3,492 dollars per annum, and 
rations and all other allowances, estimated at 1,904 dollars per annum, 
to the same pay and allowance in future of a major-general. 

March 26, 1782, 

Resolved, That the quartermaster with the Southern Army be, and 
he is hereby, empowered to raise, on the best terms possible, a corps 
of pioneers, consisting of 30 privates, under such officers now in pub¬ 
lic pay as he may think proper to appoint, to be governed by the 
Articles of War, and to continue on the establishment one 3 ^ear, unless 
the service will admit of their being sooner discharged. 

March 27, 1782. 

Ordered, That the Secretary at War make returns to Congress of 
the officers employed in the Quartermaster’s Department. 

April 10, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the Secretary at War direct the building 

and management of . . . magazines, barracks, and other public 

buildings, the necessity of which he is, from time to time, to report 
and the same is to be approved of by Congress. ’ 

That the Secretary at War be empowered ... to provide 
gUtiids foi the safe conveyance of money and any articles necessary 
for the use of the Army whenever it shall appear to him to be necessary. 

Apr il 22, 1782. 

Resolved, That from and after the first day of May next all resolves 
of Congre^ heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow¬ 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster’s Department ... be, and they are 
hereby, repealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


186 


officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations . 
affixed to their several ranks, viz: 

Quartermaster-General, 4 rations per day, 25f^ dollars per month. 

Deputy quartermaster with the Southern Army, 2 rations per day, 
12ff dollars per month. 

Commissary of forage, rations per day, 11 dollars per month. 

Subaltern, 1 ration per day, dollars per month. 

Apr'il 1782. 

Resolved., . . . That the supernumeraiy junior lieutenants, 

beyond the number of ten in each regiment of infantry, be reduced; 
. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the 

stall* departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respec¬ 
tive ranks in the Army, and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence 
belonging to their rank in the line, as a compensation for their respective 
services in the stall*, without any other allowance whatsoever. 

May 7, 1782. 

Resolved^ That the superintendent of finance be, and hereby is, 
authorized to appoint an inspector for the Main and Southern Army, 
to take care that the contracts for supplying rations be duly executed 
by the contractors; that the said inspectors shall also be, and they are 
hereb}", fully empowered and directed to attend to the expenditures of 
public property in the several departments of the Army, and report 
any fraud, neglect of duty, or other misconduct by which the public 
property is wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated, so that the 
party charged therewith may be tried by court-martial on such charges 
exhibited against him by either of the said inspectors; and that neither 
the said inspectors nor the said contractors, or their property, be liable 
to arrest or subject to martial law, except by the express order of the 
Commander in Chief, or commander of the army to which the inspect¬ 
ors respectively shall be appointed, any resolution or act of Congress 
heretofore made notwithstanding. 

That the pay to each inspector be 166| dollars per month in full of 
all allowances. 

That each inspector, when appointed, shall take an oath for the faith¬ 
ful and impartial execution of the trust reposed in him as inspector of 
the contracts of the Army. 


June 21, 1782. 

Resolved, That the Secretary of War institute an iimiK'diate enquiry 
into the reasons which have delayed the arrival of . . . necessa¬ 

ries which have already been provided and sent on to the Southern 
Army; and that he take every step in his power to discover the causes 
of delay, embezzlement, and other circumstances which have so fre¬ 
quently arrested the supplies for the Southern Army, and report thereon 
to Congress. 

Ordered, That the superintendent of finance report to Congress the 
causes which have prevented the Southern Army being supplied by 
contract. 


186 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAEE OE U. S. ARMY. 


August 30, “The Quartermaster-General will furnish the commanding offi¬ 

cers of brigades with the signal flags, which are to be carefully preserved by the 
brigade quartermasters.” {Orders, General Headquarters, JSiewburgh.) 

September 1, 1782. —“ The general is desirous the troops should make themselves as 
comfortable as possible while in the field. The encampment itself is very pleasant 
and healthy. Straw will be issued at the rate of two bundles per tent; of this, with 
the flags and leaves which may be procured, convenient mats or bedding may be 
formed. Shades or bowers should also be erected in front of the tents, in the con¬ 
struction of which regularity will be extremely pleasing to the eye.” {Orders, Gen¬ 
eral Ileadquaretrs, Verplanks Point.) 

October '23^ 1782. 

Besolved., That the establishment of the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment by the resolutions of Congress of the 15th of fluly, 1780, be, 
from and after the first day of January next, repealed and the fol¬ 
lowing regulations then adopted in its stead: 

Resolved^ That there be one Quartermaster-General, the present 
Quartermaster-General to be continued in office, and hereafter, as 
vacancies arise, to be appointed by Congress. 

That the Quartermaster-General, with the approbation of the Com¬ 
mander in Chief, appoint the following officers for the armies of the 
United States, viz: 

For the main army: One deputy quartermaster, one wagon master, 
one commissary of forage, one director and one subdirector of a com¬ 
pany of artificers. 

For the Southern Army: One deputy quartermaster, one deputy 
commissary of forage, one deputy wagon master one director, and one 
subdirector of a company of artificers, and as many assistants as the 
service may require in the Main and Southern Army, to perform the 
duties of quartermasters of brigades, storekeepers, clerks, and such 
other duties in the Quartermaster’s Department as the service may 
require, and also as many wagon conductors. 

That the pay per month of the officers in the Quartermaster-General’s 
Department, including their pay in the line of the Army, shall be as 
follows: 

Quartermaster-General, 166f|- dollars; deputy quartermaster with 
the Southern Army, 125 dollars; deputy quartermaster with the main 
army, 75 dollars; wagon master, 60 dollars; commissary of forage for 
the main army, 60 dollars; commissary of forage for the Southern 
Army, sixty dollars; deputy wagon master for the Southern Army, 60 
dollars; assistants in the Quartermaster’s Department, each 30 dollars; 
wagon conductors, each 20 dollars; directors of artificers, each 40 dol¬ 
lars, subdirectors of ditto, each 26ff dollars. 

^ That the following be the proportion of wagons and bathorses to the 
different ranks of officers, unless otherwise directed in special cases 
by the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of the Southern 
Army: ^ ^ . 

The Commander in Chief and commanding officer of the Southern 
Army, for their own accommodation and for their families, as many 
baggage wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary. 

Major-general and family, one covered four-horse wagon and one 
two-horse wagon. 

Brigadier-general and family, one covered four-horse wagon. 

Colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, one covered four-horse 
wagon. 


THP] QUAKTKRMASTEK’s BErARTMENT. 


187 


Oiptaiiis and subalterns of a regiment, for tlieir l)aggage, one (*ov- 
ered four-horse wagon. 

burgeon, paymaster, adjutant, and quartermaster, regimental stall', 
one covered four-horse wagon. 

Brigade quartermaster, one bathorse. ' 

lor the tents of a regiment, for every 75 men, but this to l)e varied 
according to the Aveight of the tents and the state of the roads, one 
open four-horse Avagon. 

(Quartermaster-General, for his baggage, according to his rank, for 
his books, papers, &c., as many as he shall find necessary. 

Deputy quartermaster AAutli "the main army or Avith a separate army, 
for his baggage and for his books, papers, &c., one coA^ered four-horse 
Avagon. 

Commissary of forage Avdtli the main army, his clerks and assistants, 
one covered four-horse Avagon. 

Deputy commissary of forage Avith a separate ai’iny, one tAvo-horse 
Avagon. 

Wagon master and clerks, one covered four-horse Avagon. 

Deputy AA'agon master Avith the Southern Army, his clerk and assist¬ 
ants, one tAA^o-horse Avagon or two bathorses. 

Inspector-General, for his baggage, according to his lank; and for 
his papers, as the Commander in Chief may direct. 

Inspectors, one tAvo-horse Avagon. 

Adjutant-General, two covered four-horse wagons; for the baggage 
of his assistant, clerks, and official papers, one tAAm-horse wagon. 

fludge-AdA"ocate, one tAvo-horse Avagon. 

Deputy judge-adA'ocate for the Southern Army, one tAAm-horse wagon. 

(^ommissaiy of prisoners, one tAvo-horse Avagon. 

Deputy commissary of prisoners, Southern Army, one two-horse 
Avagon. 

ProA'OSt-marshal, Avith prisoners and guards, one open four-horse 
Avagon. 

ideld commissary of military stores and his deputA" Avith the main 
and Southern Army, each, one bathorse. 

Deputy paymaster Avith the main and Southern Army, each, one 
tAVO-horse Av^agon. 

Field postmaster, one bathorse. 

Provided, that if the number of wagons stated above should piwe 
insufficient, the Quartermaster-General ma}^ occasionally furnish such 
additional carriages as the Commander in Chief or commanding officer 
of a separate army or the Secretary at War may direct. 

That a ration of forage per day shall consist of Id pounds of hay 
and 10 quarts of oats for each horse. 

That there be issued to the Commander in Chief, and to the com¬ 
manding officer of a separate army, and to those of their suite, as 
many_rations as the service may require. 

That there be allowed for saddle horses: 


Rations. 

To a major-general and family. 7 

Brigadier-general and family.5 

Colonel of infantry or artillery. 2 

Lieutenant-colonel. 2 

Major. ^ 

(/haplain. 1 

Surgeon. 1 

Adjutant. 1 










188 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Rations. 


Quartermaster. 1 

Brigade quartermaster. 1 

Quartermaster-General, as the service may require. 

Deputy quartermaster with the army. 2 

Captain of engineers. 1 

Commissary of forage.. 2 

Deputy with Southern Army. 2 

Wagon master and clerks. 3 

Deputy wagon master, separate army. 2 

Inspector-general, agreeable to his rank. 

Inspector, in addition to what he draws in the line. 1 

Adjutant-General. 4 

Deputy with a separate army. 3 

Each assistant... 2 

Commissary of prisoners... 2 

Deputy with a separate army. 2 

Judge-advocate.... 2 

Deputy with a separate army. 2 

Provost-marshal. 1 

Field commissary of military stores. 2 

Deputy with a separate army. 2 

Deputy paymaster. 1 

Officers of cavalry to be allowed to draw forage for the following number of 
horses, i)rovided they actually keep the same: 

Colonel. 3 

Lieutenant-colonel. 2 

Major. 2 

Captain. 2 

Lieutenant. 1 

Cornet. ] 

Paymaster.I 

Quartermaster .. V Exclusive of allowance as officers in the line, each. 1 

Adjutant.j 

Surgeon. 1 


Eesolved^ That the Quartermaster-General, with the approbation of 
the Secretary at War, shall appoint so many assistants to reside in the 
several States as the public service may require. 

That all officers in the Quartermaster-General’s Department, of 
whatever denomination, shall take the oaths of allegiance and the oath 
of office prescribed by Congress before they enter on business. 

That the Quartermaster-General make a return of the names and 
station of each person to be appointed in his department. 

That in settling the accounts of officers in the said department, no 
pa}^ or allowance whatever be granted to any person employed therein 
whose name and employment, together with a certificate of his having 
taken the aforesaid oaths, shall not have been returned within two 
months after his acceptance of such office. 

October 29, 1782. 


Eesolved, That the Quartermaster-General be allowed 15 rations 
per day; 

That the deputy quartermaster with the Southern Army be allowed 
12 rations per day; 

That all assistants in the Quartermaster’s Department be allowed, 
each of them, two rations per day. 

That the wagon master, commissary of forage for the Main Army and 
commissary of forage for the Southern Army be each allowed five 
rations per day; 
































189 


THE (iUARTERMASTER’s DEPARTMENT. 


lluit the deputy wagon master Avith the Southern Army ])e allowed 
four rations per day; 

That the Avagon conductors be each of them alloAved a ration and a 
half per day; 

That the directors of the artificers be alloAved, each of them, three 
rations per day, and the subdirectors, each of them, two rations per 
(hiA^; 

And that the foregoing rations shall be inclusive of Avhat the seATU’al 
officers aforesaid may be entitled to draAv in the line of the Army. 

Noreinber 8, 1782. —“The quartermaster having represented his inability to procure 
forage during the Avinter for the Avhole number of liorses allowed to the general and 
other otiicers of the line and staff who remain Avith the troops in the NeAV W indsor 
cantonments, has proposed to supply in the following proportion, Avhich has been 
approved by the Commander in Chief: 


To a major-general, rations for . 3 horses 

* * * 

P>rigadier and adjutant general . 3 “ 

Brigadier-general. 2 “ 

* * * 

Inspector of the Northern Army, f As they Avill have to visit and inns-12“ 

Assistant inspector. \ ter detachments. / 2 “ 

Captain of engineers. 1 “ 

Brigade major. 1 “ 

Brigade quartermaster. 1 “ 

* * * 

Assistants of adjutant-general, each. 1 “ 

Ceographer and assistants, together.. 1 

J udge-adA’ocate. 1 ‘ 

Director of hospitals. 2 “ 

Each hospital physician. 1 “ 

Apothecary. 1 “ 

Purveyor or steward. 1 “ 

* * * 

Commissary of prisoners (his business often requiring his absence). 2 “ 

Quartermaster-General. 2 “ 

Each of his assistants. 1 “ 

Commissary of forage. 2 “ 

Each of his assistants (avIio are employed riding in the country). 1 “ 

Wagonmaster-general. 2 “ 

Each of his assistants employed on duty of riding. 1 “ 


It Avill be oidional to those Avho are entithvlto keep a greater number of horsesthan 
are allowed in the foregoing to deliA^er up the snr])lus to the Quartermaster-General, 
Avho Avill send them to some distance from camp and keep them at i>iiblic expense, 
or they may keep them at their oaaui charge and he Avill pay them the amount of the 
rations Avhich such horses Avould haA'e draAvn had they remained Avith the Army.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

Koveiuher 12^ 1782. 

Resolved., That the geographer to the iiiaiii army, and the geographer 
to the Southern department be each of them alloAvcd . . . forage 
for tAvo saddle horses, one tAvo-horse covered Avagon, . . . 

That the assistant geographers ... be allowed forage for one 
saddle horse. 

December 2If, 1782. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General furnish all extraordinary 
expresses when the service require them, any ordinance or resolution 
of Congress to the contrary notwithstanding. 























190 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


February 11, 1783 .—The Quartermaster-General agrees to give six pence, or half 
a ration, per cord for the wood cut for the use of the hospitals, of which the parties 
employed for that purpose may avail themselves. {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Newburgh .) 

April 17, 1783. 

Resolved, That immediate measures be taken for the sale of all the 
dragoon horses belonging to the United States, and of all such articles 
in the several military departments as may not be necessary for the use 
of the Army, previous to its reduction, or for the formation of maga¬ 
zines on a peace establishment. 

Janiiary W, 1781i.. 

Resolved, That the principals in the several departments of Quarter¬ 
master-General ... be, and they^ are hereby, ordered to tran - 
mit as soon as may be to the War Office, to be laid before Congress, an 
exact return of all the stores in their respective departments, specify¬ 
ing the quantity and quality of each article, where deposited, in whose 
care, and in what manner secured. 

Febrxiary 23, 1785. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General . . .be required 

without delay to forward to the Board of Treasuiw or to the Comp¬ 
troller a list of their respective deputies who have been duly author¬ 
ized to issue certificates. 


July 25, 1785. 

Resolved, That the department of Quartermaster-General be ci n- 
sidered as ceasing on the day^ of passing this resolution, and that the 
Secretary at War and all others concerned govern themselves accord¬ 
ingly. 

October 2, 1788. 

The committee, consisting of Mr. Howard, IVIr. Few, Mr. Dayton, 
Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Carrington, appointed to make full enquiry into 
the proceedings in the Department of AVar, beg leave to report and to 
present to the view of Congress a summaiy statement of the various 
branches of the Department of War: 

* * * 

7th. —OF THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 

The Quartermaster’s Department on the frontiers is arranged on 
principles highly economical and beneficial to the public. 

Instead of an officer at the head of this department, with his train 
of attendants, all supplies are furnished by the contractors of provi¬ 
sion, who have also, from time to time, contracted with the Secretary 
at AA^ar to furnish all necessary articles on the frontiers which shall be 
required for the troops, on the following principles: 

1st. No articles to be furnished but by^ an order in writing from the 
commanding officer of the troops or the* commanding officer of a sepa¬ 
rate post, who shall be responsible to the Secretary at AA^ar that only 
such articles shall be ordered as the situation ofthe troops render 
indispensably^ necessary. 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


191 


2d. That for all articles so furnished the original bills of parcels 
shall be produced by the contractor, which shall oe verified upon oath 
if required. 

3d. That no charge shall be allowed the contractors which shall be 
deficient in the vouchers, the nature of whicdi are precisely carried 
out. 

4th. That for all supplies, advances, and services rendered in this 
line the contractor shall have an allowance made of 5 per cent on the 
settlement of their account, every six months, at the Treasury. 

All necessary articles which are furnished within the State for the 
troops are purchased by the Secretary at War without any commission 
or charge tliereon to the public. 

This arrangement existed previously to the resolve of Congress for 
abolishing the Quartermaster-General’s Department, July 25, 1785. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of ALarch 3^ 1791 {1 Stats., 222). 

AN ACT for raisinjj and adding another regiment to the military establishment of 

the United States, and for making further provision for the protection of the 

frontiers. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That in case the President of the United States should 
deem the employment of a . . . quartermaster . . . essen¬ 

tial to the public interest, that he be, and he hereby is, empowered, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the same 
accordingly. . . . 

Sec. 6. That in case a . . . quartermaster . . . should be 

appointed, their pay and allowances shall be, respectively, as herein 
mentioned; 

. That the quartermaster shall be entitled to the same pay, 
rations, and forage as the lieutenant-colonel commandant of a regi¬ 
ment. . . . 

* * * 

Act of Afar ch 5, 1792 {1 Stats., 2 If,!). 

AN ACT for making further and more effectual provision for the frontiers of the 

United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the monthly pay of the commissioned officers, . . 

on the military establishment of the United States, . . . shall be 

in future as follows, free of all deductions, to wit: General stall: 
. . . quartermaster, one hundred dollars, . . . deputy quar¬ 
termaster, fifty dollars. . . . 

* 

Act of Afay 8, 1792 {1 Stats., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That all purchases and contracts for supplying the Army 
with . . . supplies in the Quartermaster’s Department . . . 

be made by or under the direction of the Treasury Department. 


192 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


February's, 1795 This act established in the Treasury Department tlie 

oftice of purveyor of pul)lic supplies. His duties were to conduct the procuring and 
providing of all arms, military stores, provisions, clothing, etc. His compensation 
was fixed at $2,000 per annum, and letters to and from him were to be conveyed free 
of postage. The office was abolished after May 31,1812, by the act of March 28,1812. 

Act of March 1795 {1 Stats. ^ Jf30). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military establishment of the United 
States, and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed on that subject. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the monthly pay of the officers ... on the mili¬ 
tary establishment of the United StatesJ be as follows, to wit: General 
staff, . . . a Quartermaster-General, one hundred dollars; . . . 

deputy quartermaster, fifty dollars. 

Sec. 11. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations 
of provisions, to wit: . . . Quartermaster-General . . . six 

rations; ... a deputy quartermastei’, two rations ... or 
money in lieu thereof, at the option of the said officers, at the con¬ 
tract price, at the posts, respectively, where the rations shall become 
due. 

Sec. 12. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever 
forage shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the 
followingenumeratedsums, per month, instead thereof, to wit: . 
Quartermaster-General . . . twelve dollars; . . . deputy 

quartermaster . . . six dollars. . . . 

* * * 

Act of May 30, 1796 {1 Stats., If3). 

AN ACT to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one Quartermaster-General . . . 
* * * 

Sec. 12. That the monthly pay of the officers ... of the mili¬ 
tary establishment be as follows: . . . quartermaster . . . 

generals ... in addition to their pay in the line, twenty-five dol¬ 
lars. ... 

Sec. 13. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations 
of provisions: ... a quartermaster . . . genenils each six 

rations ... or money in lieu thereof, at the option of the said 
officers, at the posts, respectively, Avhere the rations shall become due; 
and if, at such posts, supplies are not furnished by contract, then such 
allowance shall be deemed equitable, having reference to former con¬ 
tracts and the position of the place in question. 

Sec. 14. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever for¬ 
age shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the 
following enumerated sums per month, instead thereof, to wit: . . . 

quartermaster . . . generals, each, twelve dollars. 

Sec. 23. That the general staff, as authorized by this act, shall con¬ 
tinue in service until the 4th day of next March and no longer. 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


193 


Act of Jfarch 3, 1797 {1 Stats., 607). 

AN ACT to amend and repeal, in part, the act entitled “An act to ascertain and 
fix the military establishment of the United States.” 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be one Quartermaster-General . 
who shall receive the same pay and emoluments, respectively, which 
those officers have heretofore been allowed by law. 

* * * 

Act of 2ray 28, 1798 (1 Stats., 558). 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to raise a provisional army. 
* * * 

Sec. 7. That in case the President shall judge the employment of a 
Quartermaster-General . . . essential to the public interest, he is 

hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to appoint the same accordingly, who shall be entitled to the rank, 
pay, and emoluments which follow, viz: Quartermaster-General, the 
rank, paV, and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel: . . . Provided, 

That in case the President shall judge it expedient to appoint a . . . 

Quartermaster-General, ... in the recess of the Senate, he is 
hereby authorized to make any or all of said appointments, and grant 
commissions thereon, which shall expire at the end of the next session 
of the Senate thereafter. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the . . . Quartermaster-General . . . who 

may be appointed by virtue of this act shall, respectively, contiruie in 
commission during such term only as the President shall judge requisite 
for the public service. . . . 

Sec. 10. That no . . . stah officer who shall be appointed by 
virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive pay or emoluments until 
he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time than he 
shall continue therein. ... 

* * * 


Act of July 16, 1798 {1 Stats., 610). 

AN ACT to alter and amend the several acts for the establishment and regulation of 
the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service of the United States shall be made by 

or under the direction of the chief officers of the Departments of War 
. . •. and all agents or contractors for supplies or services as afore¬ 

said shall render their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the 
proper Department for which such supplies or services are required, 
subject, nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of 
the Treasury in manner before prescribed. 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the purve}^!- of public supplies 
to execute all such orders as he may from time to time receive from 
the Secretary of War, . . . relative to the procuring and provid¬ 

ing of all kinds of stores and supplies; and shall render his accounts 

S. Doc. 229-13 


194 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


relative thereto to the accountants of the proper Departments, which 
accounts shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the officers 
of the Treasury as aforesaid. 

Sec. 5. That the provision of the act passed on the eighth day of 
May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, intituled “‘An act 
making alterations in the Treasury and AVar Departments,” and the 
act passed on the twenty-third day of February, one thousand seven 
hundred and ninety-five, intituled “An act to establish the office of 
purveyor of public supplies,” so far as the same are repugnant to the 
provisions of this act, be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 0. That all contracts to be made by virtue of this act or of any 
law of the United States, and requiring the advance of mone}^, or to 
be in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, 
shall be deposited in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury of 
the United States within ninety days after their dates, respectively. 

Act of March 3, 1799 {1 Stats., 7f9). 

\ 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6 . That when any officer shall be detached from a regiment, to 
serve as an . . . assistant to the Quartermaster-General, b}^ what¬ 
soever name, . . . the place of such officer in his regiment shall 

be supplied by promotion or new appointment, or both, as may be 
requisite; but the officer detached shall, nevertheless, retain his station 
in his regiment and shall rank and rise therein in the same manner as 
if he had not been detached. 

Sec. 7. That no officer shall be appointed ... as the quarter¬ 
master of a division who, when appointed, shall be of a rank higher 
than that of captain, or as the quartermaster of a brigade who, when 
appointed, shall be of a rank higher than that of first lieutenant . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That there shall be a Quartermaster-General of the Army 
of the United States, who shall be entitled to the rank, pay, emolu¬ 
ments, and privileges of a major-general. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 12. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the Quartermaster-General shall serve, there shall be a deputy 
quartermaster-general, who shall be a field officer, and who, in addi¬ 
tion to his other emoluments, shall be entitled to fifty dollars per month, 
which shall be in full compensation for his extra services and travelling 
expenses; but the provisions of this act are not to affect the present 
Quartermaster-General of the Army of the United States, who, in case 
a Quartermaster-General shall be appointed by virtue of this act, is to 
act as deputy quartermaster-general, and shall hereafter have the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel; and that to every division of an army there shall 
be a division quartermaster, who, in addition to his other emoluments, 
shall be entitled to thirty dollars per month, which shall be in full 
compensation for his extra services and travelling expenses; and that 
to every brigade there shall be a brigade quartermaster, who, in addi¬ 
tion to his other emoluments, shall be entitled to twenty-four dollars 
per month, which shall be in full compensation for his extra services 


THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 195 

and travelling expenses; each of which officers shall be chosen by the 
Quartermaster-General from among the regimental officers. 

* * * 

Sec. 2-1. That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of War to cause 
to be provided in each and every year all . . . camp utensils and 

equipage . . . necessary for the troops and armies of the United 

States for the succeeding year, and for this purpose to make purchases 
and enter or cause to be entered into all necessary contracts or obliga¬ 
tions for effecting the same. 

Ac^ of March 16,180<2 Stats., m). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 

■X- * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . three military agents, and such 

number of assistant military agents as the President of the United 
States shall deem expedient, not exceeding one to each military post, 
which assistants shall be taken from the line; . 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . be as follows, 

to wit: ... to each assistant militaiy agent eight dollars, in 
addition to his pay in the line, except the assistant military agents at 
Pittsburg and Niagara, who shall receive sixteen dollars each, in addi¬ 
tion to their pay in the line; . . . 

* * * 

Act of April 12,1808 {2 Stats., JfSl.) 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That when, in the opinion of the President of the United 
States, a suitable proportion of the troops authorized by this act shall 
be raised, there may be appointed . . . two brigade quartermas¬ 

ters; ... 

Sec. 4. That the compensation of the officers . . . authorized 

by this act shall be, viz: . . . each brigade quartermaster . . . 

twenty dollars . . . per month in addition to their pay in the 

line; and to each six dollars per month for forage, when not fur¬ 
nished. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That in the recess of the Senate the President of the United 
States is hereby authorized to appoint all or any of the officers, other 
than the general officers, proper to be appointed under this act, which 
appointments shall be submitted to the Senate at the next session for 
their advice and consent. 

Sec. 9.’That every . . . staff officer to be appointed in virtue 

of this act shall be a citizen of the United States or some one of the 
Territories thereof. 

Act of March 28, 1812 (2 Stats., 696). 

AN ACT to establish a Quartermaster’s Department, and for other purposes. 

That there be, and hereby is, established a Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment for the Army of the IJnited States, to consist of a Quartermaster- 
General, four deputy quartermasters, and as many assistant deputy 


190 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

quartermasters as, in the opinion of the President of the United States, 
the pui)lic serviee may require; the Quartermaster-General and deputy 
quartermasters to he appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, and the assistant deputy quarter¬ 
masters by the President alone. And he hereby is authorized, more¬ 
over, to appoint such additional number of deputy quartermasters not 
exceeding four, to be taken from the line or not, at his discretion, as 
in his judgment the public service may require. 

Sec. 2. That the Quartermaster-General shall l)e entitled to the 
rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general (under the act of 
the twelfth of April, one thousand eight hundred and eight), with forage 
for two additional horses; the deputy quartermasters, when not taken 
from the line, shall be entitled to receive sixty dollars per month, five 
rations per day, and forage for two horses, but if taken from the line, 
then such additional pay and emoluments as shall be equal to the fore¬ 
going provision; the assistant deputy quartermasters, when not taken 
from the line, shall be entitled to and receive forty dollars per month, 
three rations per day, and forage for one horse, but if taken from the 
line, then such additional pay and emoluments as shall be equal to the 
foregoing provision. 

Sec. 3. That, in addition to their duties in the field, it shall be 
the duty of the Quartermaster-General, his deputies, and assistant depu¬ 
ties, when thereto directed by the Secretarv of War, to purchase mili- 
taiy stores, camp equipage, and other articles requisite tor the troops, 
and generally to procure and provide means of transport for the 
Arm}", its stores, artillery, and camp equipage; that the Quartermaster- 
General shall account, as often as may be required, and at least once 
in three months, with the Department of War, in such manner as shall 
be prescribed, for all property which may pass through his hands or 
the hands of the subordinate officers in his department, or that may be 
in his or their care or possession, and for all moneys which he or they 
may expend in discharging their respective duties; that he shall be 
responsible for the regularity and correctness of all returns in his 
department, and that he, his deputies, and assistant deputies, before 
they enter on the execution of their respective offices, shall severally 
take an oath faithfully to perform the duties thereof. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That ... it shall be the duty of the deputy commis¬ 
saries, when directed thereto, ... in cases of necessity, by the 
. . . Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermasters, to pur¬ 

chase all such of the aforesaid articles as may be requisite for the mili¬ 
tary service of the United States. 

Sec. 6. That neither . . . the Quartermaster-General . . . 

shall, directly or indirectly, be concerned or interested in carrying on 
the business of trade or commerce, or be owner, in whole or in part, 
of any sea vessel; nor shall (either of them) purchase, by himself or 
another in trust for him, public lands or any other public property, 
or be concerned in the purchase or disposal of any public securities of 
any State or of the United States, or take or apply to his own use 
any emolument or gain for negotiating or transacting any business in 
the said department, other than what shall be allowed by law; and if 
. . . the said Quartermaster-General . . . shall offend against 

any of the prohibitions of this act, the parties so offending shall, upon 
conviction, forfeit to the United States the penalty of three thousand 
dollars and may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding five years, 


THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 197 

and shall be removed from office and he forever thereafter incapable 
of holding any office under the United States. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 10. That all letters and packets to and from the Quartermaster- 
General . . . shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the Quartermaster-General be authorized to appoint 
a principal wagon master and as many wagon masters as he may judge 
necessary for the service of the Army, not exceeding one to each bri¬ 
gade, whose duty it shall be, under the direction of the Quartermaster- 
General or any of his deputies, to provide and conduct the wagons and 
other means of transport necessary and proper for the military service 
of the United States. 

Sec. 13. That no wagon master shall, directly or indirectly, be con¬ 
cerned or interested in any wagon or means of transport employed in 
the service of the United States, nor in the purchase or sale of any 
horses, harness, wagons, or other means of transport procured for or 
belonging to the United States, except as agent for the United States. 

Sec. 11. That the principal wagon master shall be entitled to receive 
forty dollars per month, three rations per day, and forage for one 
horse; and each wagon master shall be entitled to receive thirty dol¬ 
lars per month, two rations per day, and forage for one horse. 

Sec. 15. That the Quartermaster-General be authorized to appoint 
one principal forage master and as many assistant forage masters as the 
nature of the service may require, not exceeding one to each brigade, 
whose duty shall be, under the direction of the Quartermaster-General 
or any of his deputies, to provide and deliver out forage necessary and 
proper for the military service of the United States; nor shall any for¬ 
age master be directly or indirectly concerned in the purchase or sale 
of any article of forage procured for or belonging to the United States, 
except as an agent for the United States. 

Sec. 10. That the principal forage master shall be entitled to and 
receive forty dollars per month, three rations per day, and forage for 
two horses;"and that the other forage masters shall be entitled to and 
receive thirty dollars per month, two rations per day, and forage for 
one horse. 

* * * 

Sec. 18. That this act shall go into operation on the first day of 
April next; and that so much of the act fixing the military peace estab¬ 
lishment of the United States as respects the appointment of military 
agents and assistant military agents be, and the same is hereby, 
repealed from and after that day; but all those agents shall continue 
to perform- their respective duties in the meantime and until the 
deputy and assistant deputy quartermasters shall be appointed and 
ready to enter on the execution of their respective offices; to whom 
the said military agents and assistant military agents shall then deliver 
all the public stores and property in their possession. 

Sec. 19. That all persons attached to the public service by virtue of 
this act shall be subject to military law. 

Sec. 20. That the President may and hereby is authorized, in the 
recess of the Senate, to appoint the Quartermaster-General, deputy 
quartermasters ... or any of them, which appointments shall 
be submitted to the Senate at their next session for their advice and 
consent. 


198 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Acl of Aiwil ISm Stats,, 710). 

AN ACT for the organization of a corps of artificers. 

That there shall be attached to the Quartermaster-General’s Depart¬ 
ment, and subject to the orders of the officers thereof, a corps of 
artificers, to consist of one superintendent, to be appointed by the 
President of the United States, four assistants, two master masons, two 
master carpenters, two master blacksmiths, two master boat builders, 
two master armorers, two master saddle and harness makers, twenty 
house carpenters, five ship carpenters, twenty blacksmiths, sixteen 
boat builders, sixteen armorers, twelve saddle and harness makers, 
and twenty-four laborers, to be selected from the privates of the Army 
when authorized thereto by the commanding general, or engaged from 
among the citizens by the superintendent. 

Sec. 2. That the pay of the superintendent of artificers shall be 
fortv-five dollars per month, three rations per day, and forage for one 
horse; that the pay of the four assistants bo each thirty dollars per 
month and two rations per day; that the pay of the twelve master 
workmen be each thirty dollars per month and one ration and one-half 
of a ration per day; that the pay of the other workmen be each sixteen 
dollars per month and one ration and one-half of a ration per day. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the superintendent of artificers 
to render a correct report, once each month, of the corps to the Quar¬ 
termaster-General, and on oath to make out the pay roll thereof, 
which pay roll shall be examined by the Quartermaster-General, or in 
his absence by one of the deputy quartermasters, and by him be coun¬ 
tersigned; and faithfully and without dela}^ to execute all such orders 
as he may receive from the Secretaiy of War, any officer of the Quar¬ 
termaster’s Department, or from the officer commanding in the field 
or garrison to which his corps, or any part thereof, may be attached. 

Sec. 4. That this corps shall be engaged for and during the term of 
three years, unless sooner discharged by the President of the United 
States. 

* * * 

Act of May n, ISm Stats., 74£). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act to establish a Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment, and for other purposes. ’ ’ 

That neither . . . the Quartermaster-General . . . nor 

any or either of their deputies or assistant deputies shall be concerned, 
directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale, for commercial pur¬ 
poses, of any article intended for, making a part of, appertaining to 
their . . . departments, except for and on account of the United 

States; nor shall they . . . take or apply to his or their own use 

any gain or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business in 
their respective departments other than what is or mav be allowed bv 
law. 

Sec. 2. That the Quartermaster-General be, and he is hereby, 
empowered to appoint one principal barrack master, and as many 
deputy barrack masters as may from time to time be necessary, not 
exceeding one to each separate barrack or cantonment, which said 
principal barrack master shall be entitled to receive the same pay, 
rations, and emoluments as the principal forage master, and each of 


THE QUARTEKMASTER’s DEPARTMENT. 


199 


his deputies the same pay, rations, and enioluinents as is hy law allowed 
to a deputy forage master. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the Quartermaster-General, the deputy quartermaster, 
and the assistant deputy quartermasters shall, before they or either of 
them enter upon the duties of their appointment, respectively enter 
into bond, with sufficient security, to be approved of by the Secretaiy 
at War, conditioned for the faithful expenditure of all public moneys, 
and accounting for all public property which may come into their 
hands respectively; and the Quartermaster-General shall not be liable 
for any money or property that may come into the hands of the subor¬ 
dinate officers of his department. 

Sec. 5. That the sixth section of the act hereby amended be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed. 

Act of July 6,1812 {2 Stats., 782). 

AN ACT respecting the pay of the Army of the United States. 

That . . . to a brigade quartermaster . . . there shall be 

allowed forage for one horse only, or, in lieu thereof, ten dollars per 
month; ... 

Act of July 6,1812 {2 Stats., 784). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 2. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the . . . Quartermaster-General of the Army shall serve, 

it shall be lawful for the President to appoint one . . . deputy 

quartermaster-general, . . . who shall be taken from the line of 

the Army, and who shall each, in addition to his pay and other emol¬ 
uments, be entitled to fifty dollars per month, which shall be in full 
compensation for his extra services. And that there shall be, to each 
of the foregoing deputies, such number of assistant deputies (not 
exceeding three to each department) as the public service may require, 
who shall, in like manner, be taken from the line, and who shall each 
be entitled to thirty dollars per month, in addition to his pay and 
other emoluments, which shall be in full compensation for his extra 
services: And provided also. That the President of the United States 
be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint any of the officers named 
in the act during the recess of the Senate, to be submitted to the Sen¬ 
ate at their next meeting for their advice and consent. 

* * * 


Act of Afar ch 3, 1813 {2 Stats., 816). 

AN ACT the better to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, 
and for the accountability of persons entrusted with the same. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. [The superintendent-general of military supplies shall] pre¬ 
scribe the forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and 
supplies purchased, on hand, distributed, used, or sold, to be rendered 


200 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

by . . . the scvenil officers in the Quartermaster-General’s 

Department, . . . 

Sec. 3. That . . . the several officers in the Quartermaster- 

General’s Department, . . . who shall have received or may be 

entrusted with any stores or supplies of any description whatever for 
the use of the Army of the United States and of the volunteers or 
militia in their service shall render quarterly accounts of the disposi¬ 
tion and state of all such stores and supplies to the superintendent 
aforesaid, and shall also make such other returns respecting the same, 
and at such other times, as the Secretary for the War Department may 
prescribe: Provided^ liowevet\ That the accounts and returns thus ren¬ 
dered shall relate to the articles of supply only which may have been 
received and disposed of, or as may remain on hand, and shall not 
embrace the specie accounts for monies disbursed by such officers 
. . . ; which specie accounts shall be rendered as heretofore to the 

accountants for the War Department. 

Sec. 4. That the officers . . . who may receive monies in 

advance from the War Department shall render quarterly accounts to 
the accountant of the said Department of their specie receipts and dis¬ 
bursements, and shall, moreover, make such other monthly summary 
statements thereof to the Secretary for the said Department as he may 
prescribe. . . . 

Sec. 5. That the Secretary for the War Department shall be, and 
he is hereby, authorized and directed to deline and prescribe the spe¬ 
cies as well as the amount of supplies to be respective!}^ purchased 
by the . . . Quartermaster-General’s departments and the respec¬ 

tive duties and powers of the said departments respecting such pur¬ 
chases; . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
empowered as he may deem it expedient ... to authorize any 
officer or officers in the Quartermaster-General’s Department to sup¬ 
ply and issue as aforesaid the whole or any part of the subsistence of 
the Army in all cases where, either from the want of contractors or 
from any deficiency on their part or from any contingency, such 
measure may be proper and necessary in order to insure the subsist¬ 
ence of the Army or of any part thereof; ... 


Act of March 3, 1813^ {2 Stats.^ 819). 

AN ACT for tlie better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

That the . . . Quartermaster-General’s departments shall con¬ 
sist of the following officers; that is to say, . . . eight quarter- 

masters-general, eight deputy quartermasters-general, and thirty-two 
assistant deputy quartermasters-general. 

Sec. 2. That . . . the Quartermaster-General attached to the 

; The superintendent-general of military supplies authorized to be appointed under 
this act was not a staff officer, but a civilian with a salary of $3,000 per annum His 
duties were to keep proper accounts of all military stores and supplies of every 
description purchased for the Army, the volunteers, and the militia, and to prescribe 
forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and supplies, etc 




THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 201 

principal Army .shall, as heretofore, hav^e the brevet rank and the pay 
and emoluments of a l)rigadier-general. 

Sec. 3. That all the other . . . quartermasters-general shall 

have the brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a colonel of 
infantry; . . . deputy quartermasters-general . . . shall 
have the brevet rank and the pay and emoluments .of a major of cav¬ 
alry; and the . . . assistant deputy ([uartermasters-general shall 

have the brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a captain of 
infantry. 

Sec. T. . . . The . . . Quartermasters-General, deputy 
quartermasters-general, . . . and assistant quartermasters-general, 

may be taken from the line or not as the President may deem expe¬ 
dient. ... 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That the forage, wa^on, and barrack masters shall be 
appointed as heretofore; but ea(3i quartermaster-general attached to 
a separate ariin^, command, or district shall be authorized, with the 
approbation and under the direction of the Secretary of the War 
Department, to appoint as many such officers, and to employ as many 
artilicers, mechanics, and laborers as the public service may require. 

Sec. 9. That the assistant deputy quartermasters-general may be 
appointed, and officers taken from the line and transferred to the staff 
may be thus transferred by the President of the United States alone. 
But all other new appointments authorized by this act shall be made 
by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of 
the Senate: Provided^ That during the recess of the Senate such 
appointments may be made 1)3" the President alone, in which case the 
same shall be laid before the Senate at their next session for their 
advice and consent. 

Sec. 10. That every act, and any part of an 3 " act of Congress now 
in force within the purview and meaning of this act, be, and the same 
are hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 11. TTiat all letters and packets to and from the . . . quarter¬ 
masters-general, . . . which relate to their official duties, shall be 

free from postage. 

Act of Afarch 30^ 18H {3 Stats. ^ 113). 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 

. * * * 

Sec. 20. That in no case shall the district . . . quartermasters 

of any grade be taken from the line of the Army. 

* * * 


Act of Decemher 15., 18H (3 Stats.., 151). 

AN ACT directing the staff officers of the Army to comply with the requisitions of 
naval and marine officers in certain cases. 

That it shall be the duty of the several officers of the staff of the 
Army of the United States to provide [on the requisition of the com¬ 
manding naval or marine officers when acting or proceeding to act on 


202 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


shore in coopei'ation with hiiul troopsj . . . the necessary trans¬ 

portation, as well for the men as for their 1)ag^’a^’e, provisions, and 
cannon: . . . 

Sec. 2. That the respective quartermasters of the Army shall, upon 
the recjuisition of the commanding naval officer of an}- such detach¬ 
ment of seamen or marines, furnish the said officer and his necessary 
aids with horses, accoutrements, and forage during the time they may 
be employed in cooperating with the land troops as aforesaid. 


Act of March 3, 1813 {3 Stats., 334). 

AN ACT fixing the military ])eac.e estahliHliment of the United (States. 


Sp:c. 3. That there shall be . . . four brigade quartermasters 

. The . . . brigade (piartermasters shall l)e taken from 

the subalterns of the line. 


* * -x- 

May 17,1815 .— . . . And the President of the United States has further judged 

proper, that, in addition to the provision for a general staff which is specifically made 
by the act of Congress, certain officers shall l)e retained under the special authority 
given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge without material 
injury to the service; and that the following shall be the 


GENERAL STAFF. 


* * * 

One Quartermaster-General and two deputy c}uarfermasters-general to l>e provision¬ 
ally retained. 

Four brigade quartermasters. 

* * * 

{General Orden^, A. and 1. G.'s Oj^ice.) 

Act of Ajyiil 34, ISIG (3 Stats., 397). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 

That in addition to the act providing for a railitaiy peace establish¬ 
ment, the provisions of the act of March the third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, for the better organization of the general staff, 
be, and the same are hereby, so far established, that the general staff 
shall, in future, consist of . . . one Quartermaster-General with 

one deputy quartermaster-general to a division; and an assistant of 
each to every brigade, which shall supersede the brigade quartermas¬ 
ters . . . now existing . . . 


Sec. 6 . That all officers of the ... quartermaster’s depart¬ 
ment, shall, previous to their entering on the duties of their respective 
offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the United States, fully to 
account for all moneys and public propertv which they may receive, 
in such sum as the Secretary of War shall direct. 


203 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 
Act of March, J, 1817 {3 Statn., 39Ji). 


AN ACT to amend an act entitled “xi.n act making further provisions for military 
services during the late war, and for other x^urposes.” 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the provisions contained in an act entitled ‘^An actfix- 
in^r the military peace establishment of the United States,’’ passed on 
the third of March, one thousand eig'ht liundred and fifteen, granting’ 
to the commissioned officers of the Regular Army, who were deranged 
by said act, three months’ pay in addition to the pay and emoluments 
to which they were entitled ])y law at the time of their discharge, 
shall equally extend to wagon masters, forage masters, barrack masters, 
^ . . . who were deranged by the before-recited act, except those 

provisionally retained by the President of the United States. 

* * * 

Act of April 1818 {3 Stats., 4^6). 

AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 

That SO much of the . . . “Act for organizing the general staff 

and making further provision for the Army of the United States,” 
passed April twenty-fourth, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, 
as relates to . . . forage, wagon, and barrack masters, and their 

assistants be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That so much of the act of the twenty-fourth of April, one 
thousand eight hundred and sixteen, aforesaid as relates to the quar¬ 
termaster-general of division shall be repealed and the Quartermaster’s 
Department shall consist, in addition to the two deputy quartermas- 
ters-general and the four assistant deputy quarterniasters-general, now 
authorized, of one Quartermaster-General, with the rank, pay, and 
emolument of a brigadier-general, and as many assistant dex^uty quar- 
masters-general as the President shall deem proper, not exceeding in 
the whole number twelve. 

* * * 

Act of Afay 1, 18W^ {3 Stats., 667). 

AN ACT ill addition to the several acts for the establishment and regulation of the 
Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

-x- * * 

Sec. 6. That no contract shall hereafter be made by the Secretary 
of . . . the Department of War, . . . except under a law 
authorizing the same, or under an appropriation adequate to its ful¬ 
fillment; and excepting, also, . . . contnicts by the Quartermas¬ 

ter’s Department, which ma}^ be made hy the secretaries of those 
departments. 


^Section 5 of this act authorizes the President to direct a portion of the moneys 
appropriated respectively for the service of the Quartermaster’s, Subsistence, and 
Medical Departments to be applied to any other of the above-mentioned branches of 
expenditure. 




204 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March ISU {S Stats., 616). 

AN ACT to reduce and lix the niilitary peace eBtabliHhiiient of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That there shall be one Quartermaster-General; that there 
shall be two quartermasters, with the rank, pa}^, and emoluments ot 
majors of cavalry; and ten assistant quartermasters, who shall, in 
addition to their pay in the line, receive a sum not less than ten nor 
more than twenty dollars per month, to be regulated by the Secretaiy 
of War. , 

Sec. 8. That ... the assistant quartermasters . . . shall 

be subject to duties in both departments [and Subsistence Department] 
under the ordei’s of the Secretary of War. 

* * * 


Act of March 3, mS 4 Stats., m). 

AN ACT authorizing the sale of unservi(;eable ordiiant^e, arms, and military stores. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to cause to be sold any . . . military stores . . . which, 

upon proper inspection and survey, shall appear to be damaged or 
otherwise unsuitable for the public service, whenever, in his opinion, 
the sale of such unseryiceable stores will be advantageous to the public 
service. 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or survey of the unserviceable stores 
shall be made by an inspector-general, or such other officer or officers 
as the Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose; and the sales 
shall be made under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed 
by the Secretary of War. 

Act of May 18, ISW G Stats., 173). 

AN ACT regulating the accountability for clothing and equipage issued to the Army 

of the United States and for the better organization of the Quartermaster’s 

Department. 

That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster’s Department, in 
addition to its present duties, to receive from the purchasing depart¬ 
ment and distribute to the Army of the United States all clothing and 
camp and garrison equipage required for the use of the troops; and 
that it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster-General, under the 
direction of the Secretary of War, to prescribe and enforce, under the 
provisions of this act, a system of accountability for all clothing and 
equipage issued to the Army. 

Sec. 2. That every captain, or commander of a company, detach¬ 
ment, or recruiting station, or other officer, who shall have received 
clothing or camp equipage for the use of his command, or for issue to 
the troops, shall render to the Quartermaster-General, at the expiration 
of each regular quarter of the year, quarterly returns of such sup¬ 
plies, according to the forms which may be prescribed, accompanied 
by the requisite vouchers for any issue that shall have been made, which 
returns and vouchers, after due examination by the Quartermaster- 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 205 

General, shall be transmitted for settlement to the })roper officer of 
the Treasury Department. 

Sec. 3. That it shall bo the duty of all officers charged with the 
issue of clothing or other supplies carefully to preserve the same from 
waste or damage; and in case of deficiency on final settlement of any 
article of supplies the value thereof shall be charged against the delin¬ 
quent and deducted from his monthly pay, unless he shall show to the 
satisfaction of the Secretary of War by one or more depositions set¬ 
ting forth the circumstances of the case that the said deficiency was 
occasioned by unavoidable accident, or was lost in actual service, with¬ 
out any fault on his part; and in case of damage he shall also be sub¬ 
ject to charge for the damage actually sustained, unless he shall show, 
in like manner, to the satisfaction of the Secretary pf War, that due 
care and attention were given to the preservation of said supplies and 
that the damage did not result from neglect. 

Sec. 4. That the better to enable the Quartermaster’s Department to 
carry into effect the provisions of this act there be appointed two addi¬ 
tional quartermasters and ten assistant quartermasters, to be taken 
from the line of the Army, who shall have the same rank and compen¬ 
sation as 'are provided for like grades bv the act entitled ‘‘An act to 
reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States,” 
approved the second day of March, one thousand eight hundred and 
twenty-one: Provided^ That assistant quartermasters be entitled, also, 
to receive the allowance of forage heretofore authorized by law to 
regimental and battalion quartermasters. 

Sec. 5. That each officer appointed under this act shall, before he 
enters upon his duties, give bond, with sufficient surety, to be approved 
by the secretary of War, in such sum as the President shall direct, 
with condition for the faithful performance of the duties of his office. 

Act of March m7 G <2S8), 


AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-Office Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the . . . Quartermaster-General ... be 

authorized to frank and to receive letters and packets by post free of 
postage . . . 

* * * 


Act of Jxdy 1836 (5 Stats. ^ 117). 

AN ACT authorizing tfie appointment of additional i)aymasters, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That during the absence of the Quartermaster-General 
. . . the President be authorized to empower some officer of the 

department . . . whose chief is absent to take charge thereof, 

and to perform the duties of Quartermaster-General . . . during 

such absence: Provided., That no additional compensation be allowed 
therefor. 


206 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of J%ily 5, 18S8 {5 Stats. ^ '^^56). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to add 
to the Quartermaster’s Department not exceeding two assistant 
quartermasters-general with the rank of colonel, two deputy quarter- 
masters-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and eight assistant 
quartermasters with the rank of captain; that the assistant quarter¬ 
masters now in service shall have the same rank as is provided by this 
act for those hereby authorized; and that the pay and emoluments of 
the officers of the Quartermaster’s Department shall be the same as are 
allowed to officers of similar rank in the regiment of dragoons: Pro¬ 
vided, That all appointments in the Quartermaster’s Department shall 
be made from the Army, and when officers taken for such appoint¬ 
ments hold rank in the line they shall thereupon relinquish said rank 
and be separated from the line of the Army, and that promotion in 
said department shall take place as in regiments and corps. 

Sec. 10. That the Quartermaster-General be, and he is hereby, 
authorized from time to time to employ as man}^ forage masters and 
wagon masters as he may deem necessary for the service, not exceed¬ 
ing twenty in the whole, who shall be entitled to receive each forty 
dollars per month and three rations per day, and forage for one horse; 
and neither of whom shall be interested or concerned, directly or indi¬ 
rectly, in any wagon or other means of transport employed by the 
United States, nor in the purchase or sale of any property procured 
for or belonging to the United States, except as an agent for the 
United States. 

* * * 

Act of Juhj 7, 1838 (S Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled “An act to increase tlie present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purposes,” approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

* * * 

Third. That so much of said act as requires assistant quartermasters 
to be separated from the line shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

* * * . 


Act of August 23, 184,2 {6 Stats., 512). 


AN ACT respecting the organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the office of commissary-general of purchases, some¬ 
times called commissary of purchases, shall be, and the same is hereby, 
abolished, and the duties thereof shall hereafter be performed by the 
officers of the Quartermaster’s Department, with such of the officers 
and clerks now attached to the purchasing department as shall be 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


207 


authorized by the Secretary of War, and under such regulations as 
shall be prescribed by the said Secretary, under the sanction of the 
President of the United States. 

* * * 


Aet of June 18, ISlf {9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled “An act providing for the prosecution of 
the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico/’ and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service 
of the United States, in such numbers that the officers of the Quarter¬ 
master . . . departments, authorized by law, be not sufficient to 

provide for supplying, quartering, transporting . . . them . . . 

it shall be lawful for the President to appoint, with the advice and con¬ 
sent of the Senate, as many additional officers of said departments as 
the service may require, not exceeding one quartermaster . . . for 
each brigade, with the rank of major, and one assistant quartermaster 
with the rank of captain; . . . the said quartermasters, . . . 
assistant quartermasters, ... to give bonds, with good and suf¬ 
ficient sureties, for the faitliful performance of their duties; and they 
. . . to perform such duties as the President shall direct: Provided, 

That the said officers shall be allowed the same pay and emoluments 
as are now allowed to officers of the same descriptions and grades in 
those departments, . . . that they be subject to the rules and Arti¬ 
cles of War, and continue in service only so long as their services shall 
be required in connection with the militia and volunteers. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That promotion in the Quartermaster’s Department to the 

rank of major shall hereafter be made from the captains of the 

Army. . . . 

* * K- 

Act of February 11, 18JJ {9 Stats. ^ P23). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That it shall and may be lawful for the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint, from the officers 
of the Army, four quartermasters of the rank of major, and ten assist¬ 
ant quartermasters with the rank of captain. 

Act of March S, 18JJ {9 Stats.,. 184) • 

AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general officers, and for 

other purposes, 

* * * 

Sec. 20. That the provisions of the sixth section of the act entitled 
‘‘An act respecting the organization of the Army,” etc., approved 
August twenty-third, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, which 


208 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GEJNEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


allows additional rations to certain officers of the Army, be, and the 
same are hereby, so extended as to embrace the Quartermaster-General 
. . . of the Army from the date of the act. 

* * -x- 

Jidy 10, 1848 {9-240 ).—Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted 
men in the several corps of the Army. 

Act of July 19, 18JfB {9 Stats., 2JA). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act supplemental to an act entitled ‘An act 
providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and 
the Republic of Mexico,’ ” and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. Thtit so much of said act passed on the eleventh Februaiy, 
one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, as requires the discharge 
at the close of the war with Mexico of ... ; four quartermasters 

and ten assistant quartermasters, as authorized b}^ the 10th section of 
said act; ... be, and the same is hereluq repealed: Provided, 
That no vacanc}^ happening under the provisions so repealed shall be 
filled up until further authorized by law: . 

September 28, 1850 {9-504 ).—Moneys received from the sale of military stores and 
other supplies exempted from operation of act of March 3, 1849, requiring certain 
moneys to be paid into the Treasury without abatement or reduction. 

Act of March, S, 1851 {9 Stats., 595). 

AN ACT t(^ found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid and dis¬ 
abled soldiers of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That . . . the Quartermaster-General . . . shall 

be ex officio commissioners of the same. 

* * -X- 

Act of March 3, 1857 {11 Stats., WO). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the supi)ort of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That there shall be added to the Quartermaster’s Department 
of the Army five military storekeepers, who shall give the bond and 
security required by the existing law; and they and all other military 
storekeepers shall have in kind, and in kind only, the fuel and quarters 
of first lieutenant of the Armv. 

* * * 

March 3, 1859 {11-431 ).—Board of commissioners of the Soldiers’ Home reduced; 
Quartermaster-General no longer a member thereof. 

Act of June 23, 1860 {12 Stats., 91). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixtv-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the departments of the Government, except for personal serv¬ 
ices, when the public exigencies do not reipiire the immediate delivery 


209 


THE QUARTERMASTEK’s DEPARTMENT. 

of abides or performance of the service, shall be made by advertising, 
a sumcient time previously, for proposals respecting the same. When 
immediate delivery or performance is required b}" the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured" by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are 
usually bought and sold or such services engaged between individuals. 
No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be 
authorized by law or be under an appropriation adequate to its fulfil¬ 
ment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, subsist¬ 
ence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, shall 
not exceed the necessities of the current year. No . . . military 

supplies whatever which are of a patented invention shall be purchased, 
nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, unless 
the same shall be authorized bv law and the appropriation therefor 
explicitly set forth that it is for^such patented invention. 

* * * 

Act of Fehruary 21,1861 (12 Stats., H7). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thir¬ 
tieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled “An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 
the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one,” approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented firearms, as to which 
the said section shall still be in force. 

* * * 


Act of Afarch 2,1861 (12 Stats., 2Hi). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending J une thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * 

Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the departments of the Government, except for personal serv¬ 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of the article or articles, or performance of the service, shall be made 
by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting the 
same. When'immediate delivery or performance is required by the 
public exigency, the articles or service required may be procured bv 
open purchase or contract at the places and in the manner in which such 
articles are usually bought and sold, or such services engaged between 
individuals. No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made, unless 
the same be authorized by law or be under an appropriation adequate 
to its fulfilment, except in the War . . . Departments, for cloth¬ 

ing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation which, how¬ 
ever, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. And the 
third section of the act entitled “An act making appropriations for 
the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Governnient for 
the year ending the thirtieth [twenty-third] of June, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-one,” shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 


S. Doc. 229-14 



210 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

Act of July n, 1861 {12 Stats., 268). 

AN ACT to authorize the employment of volunteers to aid in enforcing the laws and 
protecting public property. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. . . . Each brigade . . . shall have . . . one 

assistant quartermaster. . . . 

* * * 

Act of August 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. . . . And there shall be added to the Quartermaster’s 

Department one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels,, four majors, and 
twenty captains, with the rank, pay, and allowances of officers of 
cavalry; and whenever any army captain of the Quartermaster’s 
Department shall have served fourteen years’ continuous service, he 
shall be promoted to the rank of major; and that there shall be added 
to the Quartermaster’s Department as many master wagoners, with 
the rank, pay, and allowances of sergeants of cavalry, and as many 
wagoners, with the pay and allowances of corporals of cavalry, as 
the military service, in the judgment of the President, may render 
necessary. . . . 

^ -x- 'X- 

Act of January 31, 1862 {12 Stats., 33J). 

AN ACT to authorize the President of the United States in certain cases to take 
possession of railroad and telegraph lines, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the transportation of troops, munitions of war, equip¬ 
ment, military property, and stores throughout the United States 
shall be under the immediate control and supervision of the Secretary 
of War and such agents as he may appoint; and all rules, regulations, 
articles, usages, and laws in conflict with this provision are hereb}" 
annulled. 

* * * 

February 12, 1862 {12-338 ).—Three competent naval officers may be temporarily 
detailed for inspecting transport vessels, etc., for the service of the War Department. 

Act of July 5, 1862 {12 Stats., 505). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and additional appropriations 
for the year ending thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized, by and with the consent of the Senate, to appoint as 
many military storekeepers in the Quartermaster’s Department of the 
Army as the exigencies of the service may require: Provided, The 
whole number of military storekeepers in that department shall not 
exceed twelve. 


THE (iTJARTERM aster’s HERARTMENT. 


211 


July 12, 1862 {12-624 ).—Extra clothing to be furnished to all sick, wounded, or 
other soldiers who may have lost the same by the casualties of war. 

^ July 11, 1862 {12-504 ).—Contractors for military supplies guilty of fraud to be sub¬ 
ject to the rules and regulations governing the Army. This i)rovision was extended 
by section 7 of the act of July 7, 1864 (13-394), to applv to their agents and to all 
inspectors of military supplies. 


Act of July 17, 1862 {12 Stats., 507). 

AN ACT to amend the act (railing forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred ancl ninety-hve, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

-X- -x- * 

Sec. Ic. Uhut each army corps shall have . . . one quarter¬ 
master . . . who shall hear . . . the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and who shall he assigned from the Army or volunteer force 
1)}' the President. . . . 

* * * 


Act (f June 25, 186{13 Stats., 181). 

AN ACT to provide for the examination of ('ertain officers of the Army. 

Thatevery(]uartermaster and assistant quartermaster . . . shall, 

as soon as practicable, be ordered to appear for examination as to his 
(pialilications before a board to be composed of three staff officers of 
the (*orps to which he belongs, of recognized merit and fitness, of whom 
two at least shall be officers of volunteers, which board shall make a 
careful extimination as to the qualification of all officers who may 
a])})ear l)efore them in pursuance of this act, and shall also keep min¬ 
utes and make a full and true record of the examination in each case. 
And all members of such boards of examination shall, before proceed¬ 
ing to the discharge of their duties as herein provided, swear or affirm 
that they will conduct all examinations with impartiality and with a 
sole view to the qualifications of the person or persons to be examined, 
and that they will not divulge the vote of any member upon the exam¬ 
ination of any officer who may appear before them. 

Sec. 2. That such boards of examination shall be convened, under 
the direction of the Secretary of War, by the Quartermaster-General 
at convenient places; and general rules of examination and a 
standard of qualification shall be prescribed by said officers, subject to 
the approval of the Secretary of War, and shall be published in general 
orders. 

Sec. 5. That after such general order shall have Teen pul)lished for 
sixty days if any officer who shall then be ordered before a board of 
exaniineVs, under the provisions of this act, shall fail for thirty days 
after receiving sucli special order to report himself as directed, all his 
pay and allowances shall cease and l)e forfeited until he does appearand 
report for examination; and if he shall still thereafter fail for a further 
period of thirty da^^s so to appear he shall thereupon bo dropped 
from the rolls of the xVrmy: Provided, liwcever, That if such failure to 
appear and report shall have been occasioned by wounds or sickness, 
or other physical disability, then there shall be no forfeiture of-pay 
until thii'ty days after such disability has been removed; but if in sixty 
da^'s after the disability is removed the officer shall not report himself 
he shall then be dropped from the rolls as in other cases. 


212 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 4. That if the board of examination shall report that any officer 
does not possess the requisite business qualifications they shall forward 
the record of the examination of such officer to the head of the bureau 
to which he may belong, and if the head of such bureau shall approve 
the finding and report of the board he shall forward the same, through 
the Secretary of War, to the President of the United States, and if the 
President shall confirm the same the officer so failing in his examina¬ 
tion shall, if commissioned, be dismissed from the service with one 
month’s pa}^, and if not yet commissioned, his appointment shall be 
revoked. And if the board shall report that any officer fails to pass a 
satisfactory examination by reason of intemperance, gambling, or other 
immorality, and if the head of the bureau shall approve the finding and 
report of the board, and the same being communicated, as before pro¬ 
vided, to the President and confirmed hy him, then such officer shall 
be dismissed from the service without pa}^, and shall not be permitted 
to reenter the service as an officer: Provided^ That such dismissal shall 
not relieve him from liability under existing laws for any offense he 
may have committed. 

Sec. 5. That the boards of examination shall forward all their rec¬ 
ords of examination to the heads of the bureau to which they appertain, 
and such records shall be filed in the proper bureau with a suitable 
index; and any officer who may desire it shall be entitled to receive a 
copy of the record in his own case upon paying the cost of copying 
the same. 


Act of July 186If, {13 Stats. ^ 381). 

AN ACT to restrict the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims and to provide for the 
payment of certain demands for quartermaster’s stores and subsistence supplies 
furnished to the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That all claims of loyal citizens in States not in rebellion for 
quartermaster’s stores actually furnished to the Army of the United 
States and receipted for by the proper officer receiving the same, or 
which may have been taken by such officers without giving such receipt, 
may be submitted to the Quartermaster-General of the United States, 
accompanied with such proofs as each claimant can present of the facts 
in his case; and it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster-General to 
cause such claim to be examined, and if convinced that it is just and 
of the loyalty of the claimant, and that the stores have been actually 
received or taken for the use of and used by said Army, then to report 
each case to the Third Auditor of the Treasury with a recommendation 
for settlement. 

* x- * 


Act of July 186 It, {13 Stats., 39J). 

AN ACT to provide for the better organization of the Quartermaster’s Department. 

That there shall be established in the office of the Quartermaster- 
General of the Army, to exist during the present rebellion and one 
year thereafter, the following divisions, each of which shall be placed in 
the charge of a competent officer of the Quartermaster’s Department, 
to be assigned to such duty by the Secretary of War, who shall, under 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


213 


such rules as may be prescri])ed ])y the Quartermaster-General, with 
the approval of the Secretary of AVar, transact the business of such 
division as hereinafter provided, to wit: 

The hrst division shall have charge of the purchase, procurement, 
and disposition of horses and mules for cavalry, artillery, wagon and 
ambulance trains, and all other purposes for which horses or mules 
may be procured for the armies of the United States. 

The second division shall have charge of the purchase, procurement, 
issue, and disposition of cloth and clothing, knapsacks, camp and gar¬ 
rison equipage, and all accoutrements of the soldier which are provided 
by the Quartermaster's Department. 

The third division shall have charge of the purchase, charter, hire, 
and maintenance of all vessels to be used in the transportation of the 
Army, and of prisoners of war, and of their supplies, on the ocean, and 
the bays and sounds connected therewith, and upon the northern and 
northwestern lakes, including all vessels propelled by steam or other¬ 
wise, owned or employed by the War Department, excepting river 
steam vessels and barges upon the ATestern rivers. 

The fourth division shall have charge of the purchase, charter, hire, 
maintenance, and procurement of all transportation for the Army, and 
its supplies by land and upon the ATestern rivers (other than transpor¬ 
tation by animal power in the field and at camps, garrisons, posts, 
depots, and stations), including all railroad and telegraph lines oper¬ 
ated by the United States for militaiy purposes, and of ail steam rams 
and gunboats owned or employed bythevVar Department upon the 
AVestern rivers, until other disposition shall be made of them by com¬ 
petent authority. 

The fifth division shall have charge of the purchase, procurement, 
issue, and disposition of forage and straw for the Arny. 

The sixth division shall have charge of the erection, procurement, 
maintenance, disposition, and so forth, of all barracks, hospital build¬ 
ings, storehouses, stables, bridges (other than railroad bridges), 
wharves, and other structures composed in whole or in part of lum¬ 
ber, and of all lumber, nails, and hardware for building purposes; and 
of the hire and commutation of quarters for officers, the hire of quar¬ 
ters for troops, the hire of grounds for cantonments, or other military 
purposes, and the repair and care of all buildings and other structures 
herein mentioned, and of all grounds owned, hired, or occupied for 
military purposes, except such as are lawfully under the charge of 
other bureaus of the AVar Department; and of extra pay to soldiers 
employed in erecting barracks, or other fatigue duty, under the acts 
of March second, eighteen hundred and nineteen, and August fourth, 
eighteen hundred and fift 3 "-four. 

The seventh division shall have charge of the purchase, procure¬ 
ment, issue, and disposition of all wagons, ambulances, travelling 
forges, and harness (except such as are furnished by the Ordnance 
Department), and of all hardware, except as hereinbefore provided, 
and of all fuel for officers and enlisted men, camps, garrisons, hospitals, 
posts, storehouses, offices, public transports, steam rams, and army 
gunboats, and of all transportation by animal power in the field, at 
camps, garrisons, posts, depots, and stations, and of the construction 
and repair of roads other than railroads; and of the compensation of 
wagon and forage masters, and of clerks to officers of the Quarter¬ 
master’s Department; and of the purchase of heating and cooking 


214 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


stoves; and of the expenses of courts-martial, military commissions, 
and courts of inquiry; and of mileage and allowances to officers for 
the transportation of themselves and their baggage when travelling 
upon duty without troops, escorts, or supplies, and of supplies for 
prisoners of war and such refugees as the Secretary of War may direct 
to be temporarily provided for; and of the purchase of stationery, 
blanks, and blank books for the Quartermaster’s Department; and of 
the printing of the division and department orders and reports; and of 
the proper and authorized expenses for the movements and operations 
of an army not expressly assigned to any other division or department. 

The eigffith division shall have charge of all inspections of the Quar¬ 
termaster’s Department, and of all reports made by officers assigned 
to inspection duty, analyzing and preserving the reports as received, 
and communicating through the Quartermaster-General to the chiefs 
of the proper divisions such portions of these reports as may be neces¬ 
sary for their information and use: Promded^ That the officers assigned 
to inspection duty shall have power not only to report and to point 
out any errors or abuses which they may discover in the practical 
operations of the Quartermaster’s Department, but to give, by order 
of the Quartermaster-General, the orders which may be immediatel}^ 
necessary to correct and prevent a continuance of such abuse or errors: 
Provided further^ That all such orders shall be immediately reported 
to the chief of the inspection division for the approval or otherwise of 
the Quartermaster-General. 

The ninth division shall have charge of all correspondence, returns, 
reports, and records received, filed, and preserved in the office of the 
Quartermaster-General, and of the transmission thereof to the several 
other divisions of this office, and departments of the Government. 

Sec. 2. That the heads of the several divisions above mentioned 
shall, under the direction of the Quartermaster-General, from time to 
time, advertise for proposals for the supplies necessary for the move¬ 
ments and operations of the several armies, posts, detachments, garri¬ 
sons, hospitals, and for other military purposes, in newspapers having 
general circulation in those parts of the country where such supplies 
can be most advantageously furnished, having regard also to the places 
where such supplies are to be delivered and us^; and all such sup¬ 
plies, so purchased and contracted for, shall be subject to careful 
inspection, and all clothing and camp and garrison equipage shall be 
subject to a double inspection, first, as to the quality of the material, 
and, second, as to the kind and character of the workmanship, which 
inspection shall in all cases be performed by a competent inspector, 
with suitable assistants, wffio shall have had ample experience in the 
inspection of cloth, clothing, knapsacks, camp and garrison equipage; 
and all payments for supplies so purchased shall be made under the 
direction of the officers in charge of the several divisions above men¬ 
tioned, upon receipts or certificates from the officers inspecting and 
receiving such supplies, prepared in such form and attested in such 
manner as may be prescribed by the Quartermaster-General. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster-General to 
establish depots, from time to time, at places conv^enient to the prin¬ 
cipal armies in the field, for receiving and distributing the supplies 
necessary for such armies, and for the detachments, posts, and hos¬ 
pitals most accessible to such depots; and the business of inspecting, 
weighing, measuring, and receiving supplies for such armies, detach- 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


215 


ments, posts, and hospitals, and of giving* receipts or certificates there¬ 
for to the persons furnishing such supplies, shall be carried on as far as 
practicable at such depots; but the Quartermaster-General, or the heads 
of the several divisions above mentioned, may cause such supplies to 
be sent from the place of purchase directly to the quartermasters of 
the commands for whose use they are procured, in any cases where it 
may be more economical or advantageous so to do; and in cases where 
horses, mules, clothing, or camp and garrison equipage may be so sent, 
suitable and competent inspectors shall be sent to examine the same 
before they shall be issued and receipted for. 

Sec. 4. That when an emergency shall exist requiring the immedi¬ 
ate procurement of supplies for the necessary movements and opera¬ 
tions of an army or detachment, and when such supplies can not be 
procured from any established depot of the Quartermaster’s Depart 
inent, or from the head of the division charged with the duty of fur¬ 
nishing such supplies, within the required time, then it shall be lawful 
for the commanding officer of such army or detachment to order the 
chief quartermaster of such army or detachment to procure such sup¬ 
plies during the continuance of such emergency, but no longer, in the 
most expeditious manner, and without advertisement; and it shall be 
the duty of such quartermaster to obey such order; and his accounts 
of the disbursement of moneys for such supplies shall be accompanied 
by the order of the commanding officer as aforesaid, or a certified 
copy of the same, and also by a statement of the particular facts and 
circumstances, with their dates, constituting such emei^ency. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster- General, imme¬ 
diately after the passage of this act, and at least once in every month 
thereafter, to require from the principal quartermasters of the several 
militaiy departments and depots approximate^tatements of the aggre¬ 
gate amounts of supplies on hand, and estimates of the additional 
amounts required for the service for the ensuing month, stating at 
what places such supplies will be required, and what amounts are 
legally contracted for but not yet delivered. And it shall be the duty 
of the heads of the several divisions above mentioned to cause to be 
made purchases or contracts for the supplies which the Quartermaster- 
General may estimate to be necessary in accordance with law, and all 
quartermasters shall forthwith report to the Quartermaster-General, 
to be referred to the heads of the several divisions above mentioned, 
all contracts not yet fulfilled which they may have executed on behalf 
of the United States, and all proposals which they may have received 
in answer to advertisements for future supplies, and shall hereafter 
regularly report to the Quartermaster-General copies of all contracts 
made and all proposals received for supplies of any kind to be fur¬ 
nished. And if any quartermaster shall neglect or refuse, for the 
space of one month* to report to the Quartermaster-General any such 
contract or proposal, such neglect or refusal shall be deemed prima 
facie evidence of fraud, and the pay of such quartermaster shall be 
stopped until he shall have made a satisfactory explanation to the Secre¬ 
tary of War of such neglect or refusal. 

Sec. 6 . That all inspectors of horses, mules, clothing, fuel, forage, 
lumber, hired transports, and other supplies of the Quarternmster’s 
Department shall be sworn (or affirmed) to perform their duties in a 
faithful and impartial manner, and shall for any corruption, wilful 
neglect, or fraud in the performance of their duties be liable to pun- 



216 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


ishment by fine and imprisonment, by sentence of court-martial or 
military commission; and if any contractor or person furnishing such 
supplies or transportation shall give or offer to give to any inspector 
of such supplies or transportation, or to any other person for his use, 
directly or indirectl}^, any money or other valuable consideration, such 
person giving or offering to give such money or other valuable con¬ 
sideration shall forfeit to the United States the full amount of his 
contract or contracts with the United States, and the name and off ence 
of such person shall be published in general orders, and also in one 
newspaper of general circulation nearest to his place of residence. 

Sec. 7. That the provisions of the sixteenth section of the act 
entitled “An act to define the pay and emoluments of certain officers 
of the Army, and for other purposes,” approved July seventeen, eight¬ 
een hundred and .sixty-two, shall apply to all persons engaged in 
executing the contracts therein referred to, whether as agents of such 
contractors or as claiming to be assignees thereof, or otherwise, and 
to all inspectors employed by the United States for the inspection of 
subsistence, clothing, arms, ammunition, munitions of war, or other 
description of supplies for the Army or Navy of the United States: 
Promded, That any person arrested to answer charges for a violation 
of the provisions of this act, or of the act to which it is in addition, 
shall be admitted to bail for his appearance to answer the charges made 
against him before any court-martial constituted to try him, in such 
sums and with such sureties as shall be designated and approved by 
the judge of the district court of the district in which the arrest is 
made or the offence is charged to have been committed, or any com¬ 
missioner appointed by such court. 

Sec. 8. That if any contractor or person furnishing supplies or 
transportation shall give^ or offer to give, or cause to be given, to any 
officer or employee of the Quartermaster’s Department having charge 
of the receipt or disposition of the supplies or transportation furnished 
by him, or in any way connected therewith, any money or other valu¬ 
able consideration, directly or indirectly, all contracts and charters 
with such person shall, at the option of the Secretary of War, be null 
and void; and if any officer or employee of the Quartermaster’s 
Department shall knowing]}^ accept any such money or other valuable 
consideration from such person, he shall be deemed guilty of mal¬ 
feasance, and shall be punished by ffne and imprisonment, or both, as 
a court-martial or military commission may direct. 

Sec. 9. That whenever it shall become necessary to purchase any 
steam or sailing vessel for the use of the Quartermaster’s Department, 
the same shall be first inspected by one or more competent naval 
officers detailed in accordance with the provisions of the “act author¬ 
izing the detail of naval officers for the service of the War Depart¬ 
ment,” approved February twelve, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, 
and all steam vessels shall be inspected by an officer skilled in the con¬ 
struction and operation of steam machinery, in addition to the other 
usual inspection of such vessels: Provided^ That the provisions of this 
section shall not apply to steamboats or other vessels in military serv¬ 
ice on the western rivers; but such river steamboats or vessels shall 
be so inspected by competent builders, to be designated for that 
purpose. 

Sec. 10. That the officers placed in charge of the several divisions 
provided for by the first section of this act shall, during the time they 
remain in such charge, each have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


217 


colonel in the Quiirterinaster’y Department: Provided^ That the Quar¬ 
termaster-General may, with the approval of the Secretary of War, 
from time to time, and according to the necessities of the public service, 
change the distribution of duties among them; and all such changes 
shall be forthwith published in general orders of the War Department. 

Sec. 11. That during the continuance of the present rebellion the 
Secretary of AVar ma}^ assign to duW, as inspectors of the Quarter¬ 
masters Department, six officers, to be selected from the regular and 
volunteer officers of that staff corps, who have served not less than one 
3"ear, who shall have, while so assigned and acting, the temporary 
rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment; and also, when in his judgment it is necessary, may assign to 
each army in the ffeld, consisting of more than one army corps, and to 
each military department, and to each principal depot, not exceeding 
ten in number at any one time, of the Quartermaster’s Department, an 
officer to act as chief or senior quartermaster of said army, military 
department, or depot, who shall have while so assigned the temporaiy 
rank, pa}", and emoluments of a colonel of the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment; and also to assign to each division of two or more brigades a 
quartermaster, as division quartermaster, who, while so assigned and 
acting, shall have the temporary rank, pay, and emoluments of a major 
of the Quartermaster’s Department: Provided^ That when any of said 
officers is relieved from such duty, his temporary rank, pay, and 
emoluments shall cease, and he shall return to his lineal rank in the 
department: And 'provided further^ That when within the limits of 
any military department there shall be not more than one army corps, 
then the chief quartermaster of the army corps shall perform also the 
duties of the department quartermaster. 

Sec. 12. That at least two-thirds of all officers of each grade or 
assigned rank provided for under the provisions of this act shall be 
selected from among quartermasters of the volunteer service. 

* * * 

March 3, 1865 {13-507). —Fuel may be issued to destitute refugees and freedmen. 

Resolution of March 1865 {IS Stats., 571). 

A RESOLUTION to authorize and direct an inventory of articles in the quarter¬ 
masters’ depots of the United States and in the possession of the naval storekeepers 
of the United States. 

That the Secretary of ATar be, and is hereby, directed to cause a 
strict inspection to be made of the Quartermaster’s Department as 
soon as practicable after the passage of this resolution, and a com¬ 
parison be made between the reports of the officers in charge of the 
quartermasters’ depots at New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Saint 
Louis, and Louisville, and the articles on hand. 

* * ■ * 

Act of July IS, 1866 {U Stats., 90). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the Quartermaster’s Department shall in all cases, in 
obtaining supplies for the military service, state in advertisements 
for bids for contracts that a preference shall be given to articles of 


218 LEOISLATIVK HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 


(loniestic pi’oductioii Jiiul luiiiuifjicture, conditions of price nnd (puility 
being' ecpnd, and tlnit sucli })referejK*o sliall ])e given to articdes of 
American production and manufacture produ(*ed on the Pacific coast 
to the extent of the consumption reciuired by the public service there; 
and in advertising for army sup])lies the Quartermaster’s Department 
shall rcMpiire all articles which are to be used in the States and Lerri- 
tories of the Pacitic coast to be d(diver(‘d and inspi'.cted at points desig¬ 
nated in those States and d'erritories, and the advertisements for such 
su])plies shall be publisluMl in newspapers of the cities of San Fnincisco, 
in California, and Portland, in Oregon. 

* * * 

July U, 186G {14-S64). —Condeiniicd clothing and surplus camp and garrison 
equipage may be issued to families rendered homeless and destitute by rec^ent fire in 
Portland, I\Te. Surplus bedding and hospital furniture may be issued (same as 
above). 

July 16, 1866 Transportation may be furnished destitute refugees and 

freedmen. 

July 28, 1866 {14-810). —This act makes an Hp}>ropriation for the establishment of 
national cemeteries and tlie i)ur(;luise of sites for tlie same. 

.A(J of July JSGO { [Jf. /SfatG..) SJ2). 

AN A(’T to increase and tix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 7. . . . and the President of the United States is hereby 

authorized to appoint for each national cemetery now established, or 
that may be established, a superintendent, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of an ordnance sergeant, to be selected from among the 
noncommissioned ollicers of the Kegular Arniv and volunteer forces 
who have received certilicates of merit for services during the war. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That the Quartermaster’s Department of the Army shall 
hereafter consist of one Quartermaster-General, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a brigadier-general; six assistant quarterniasters- 
general, Avith the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; 
ten deputy quartermasters-general, with the rank, pay, and emolu¬ 
ments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry; fifteen quartermasters, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry, and forty-four 
assistant (piartermasters, with the rank, pa}', and emoluments of cap¬ 
tains of cavalry; and the vacancies hereby created in the grade of 
assistant quartermaster shall be filled by selection from among the 
persons Avho have rendered meritorious services as assistant quarter¬ 
masters of volunteers during two years of the Avar; but after the first 
appointments made under the provisions of this section, as A^acancies 
may occur in the grades of major and captain in this department, no 
appointments to fill the same shall be made until the number of majors 
shall be reduced to tAvelve and the number of captains to thirty, and 
thereafter the number of officers in each of said grades shall continue 
to conform to said reduced numbers. 

Sec. Id. That the number of military storekeepers in the Quarter¬ 
master’s Department shall hereafter be as many as shall be required, 
not exceeding sixteen, Avho shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of captains of infantry. 

Sec. 15. That the provisions of the act for the better organization 
of the Quartermaster’s Department, approved July fourth, eighteen 


thp: quartekmastek’s department. 


219 


liundred ;ind slxtv-rour, sluiil coiitiiiiK'. in force until the first day of 
rjanuary, eighteen hundr(‘d and sixty^-seven, and no longer. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . (]uartermaster-general . . . shall 

hereafter be appointed by the selection from the corps to which they 
belong, and no })erson shall b(i ap])ointed to any vacancy created by 
this act in the . . . (piartei-master’s deparfinents until he shall 

have passed the (examination now recpiired bv law. 

* * * 

Jidy 28, 1866 (14-342 ).—Trunsportatioii to be furnished to diLcharged soldiers to 
whom artitieial limbs are furnished ])y the (b)verumeiit. 

Act of February 1867 {F Stats., 399). 

AN ACT to establish and protect national cemeteries. 

That in the arrangements of the national cemeteries, established for 
the burial of deceased soldiers and sailors, the Secretary of War is 
hereby directed to have the same enclosed with a good and substantial 
stone or iron fence; and to cause each grave to be marked with a small 
headstone or block, .with the number of grave inscribed thereon, cor- 
res])onding with the number opposite to the name of the party, in a 
register of burials to be ke])t at each cemetery and at the office of the 
(iuartermaster-(renei*al, which shall set forth the name, rank, com¬ 
pany, regiment, and date of death of the officer or soldier; or, if 
unknown, it shall be so recorded. 

-X- * * 

Act <f Afarch. 3, 1807 {Ilf. Stats., JfM). 

AN A(’T to provide for u temporary increase of the i)ay of officers in the Army of 
the United States and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. T. That (excepting the ordnance storekeeper and paymaster at 
the Si)ringtield Armory, who has the rtink, pay, and allowances of a 
imijor of cavalry) all storeket^pors of the Army shall hereafter have 
the rank, pay, and allowances of captains of cavalry. 

* * * 

March 22, 1867 {15-1 ).—One complete suit of clothing to be issued to each invalid 
soldier in any of the Soldiers’ Ibnnes. By the act of January 28, 1873 (17-417), this 
benelit was extended so as to give a suit of clothes or its equivalent in clothing to 
each man who has been or was in a national asylum. 

March 22, 1867 {16-21). —Barracks, buildings, etc., at Camp Chase, Ohio, to be 
turned over to board of managers of the national asylum; surplus clothing and 
quartermaster stores may be sold to said board at first prices. 

March 12, 1868 {15-250). —(Tratuitous issues of clothing, on the recommendation of 
the Surgeon-General, may be made to soldiers who have had contagious diseases and 
t<j hospital attendants who have nursed them. 

Act of ALarcli 3, 1809 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtietfi, tughteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed liy law there shall be no new 
a])pointments and no promotions ... in the Quartermaster’s 
DeT)artment. ... 

* -x- * 


220 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Fchnutrii lo, 1810 {16-6 ')).—Necessary supplies and coiuleiniied clothing )nay be 
fiirnislied the poor and destitute ()i‘ the District of Cbluinljia. 

./?(/// /i, 1870 {16-220 ).—No purchase of coal or wood to he made except on condi¬ 
tion that the same shall, l)etore delivery, he inspected, weighed, or measured hy an 
agent of tlie hureau for which jjurchase is made. 

Juhj 14 , 1870 (i6*-5PP).—Wlien transferred to the General Govermnent, the Gettys¬ 
burg and xlntietam cemeteries to he cared for and maintaine<l as national cemeteries. 


Act of July 15, mo {16 StaU., 315). 

AN ACT making aj)pro])riations for the su]>port of the Army for the year ending 
June thirty, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and for other purposes. 

.* * * 

Sec. 2d. . . . Provided, That fuel, quarters, and fora^’e in kind 

may ])e furnished to officers by the Quartermaster’s Department, as 
noAy allowed ))y law and regulations. 

-X- -x- * 

April 20, 1871 {17-5). —Condemned clothing and bedding, not exceeding $5,000 in 
value, may he furnished to the National Freedmen’s Relief Association. 

Act of Afay 18, 1873 {17 Stats., 133). 

AN ACT making ap])ro]>riations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the 
service of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and seventy-two, and for former years, and for other purposes. 

* * *x- 

. . . Provided, That hereafter barracks and quarters, and all 

buildings and structures whatever of a permanent nature, shall be con¬ 
structed upon special authority, to be giyen by act of Congress, except 
when constructed by the troops; and no such structures wffiose cost 
shall exceed twenty thousand dollars shall be erected or continued in 
erection unless by such authority so specially granted. 

^ 5 - * * 

Provided, That there shall be no claim upon the United 
States for the use of any patent for the manner of or material for doing 
the same. | Preseryation of clothing and camp equipage.] 

* * * 


Act of Afay 18, 1873 {17 Stats., 135). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act to establish and to protect national ceme¬ 
teries,” approv(‘d February twenty-second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven. 

That the Secretary of War is hereb}^ authorized to select the super¬ 
intendents of the national cemeteries from meritorious and trustworthy 
soldiers, either commissioned officers or enlisted men of the Volunteer 
or Regular Army, who haye been honorabl}^ mustered out or dis¬ 
charged from the seryice of the United States and who may haye been 
disabled for actiye held seryice in the line of duty. 

Sec. 2. That the superintendents of the national cemeteries shall 
receiye for their compensation from sixty dollars to seyenty-liye dol¬ 
lars per month, according to the extent and importance of the ceme¬ 
teries to which they may lie respectiyely assigned, to be determined 
by the Secretary of War; and they shall also be furnished with quar¬ 
ters and fuel, as noiv proyided at the seyeral cemeteries. 

* -X- * 


221 


THE QUARTERMASTEK’s DEPARTMENT. 

Act of June 3, 1872 {17 Stats. ^ 21J). 

AN ACT to authorize the appointment of certain othcera in the Quartermaster’s 

Department. 

That the President be, and hereby is, authorized to nominate, and 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate to appoint, certain 
officers of the Quartermaster’s Department to the grade they would 
have held in said Department, respectively, had the vacancies created 
therein by the act of July twenty-e’ghth, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
six, from the rank of major to the rank of colonel, both inclusive, been 
filled by promotion by seniority: Provided., That no officer shall be 
deprived of his relative rank or reduced from his present grade by 
this act and that the officers whose appointments are herein authorized 
shall take rank and receive pay only from the date of their confirmation. 

Act of June 8, 1872 {17 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An acd supplementary to an act to provide for 
furnishing artificial limbs to disabled soldiers,” approved June thirtieth, eighteen 
hundred and seventy. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the transportation allowed for having artificial limbs 
fitted shall be furnished by the Quartermaster-General of the Army, 
the cost of which shall be refunded from the appropriations for invalid 
pensions. 

* * * 

June 8, 1872 {17-345). —Name of soldier and name of State, when the same are 
known, to be inscribed on each headstone. 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats., SJl). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the xVrmy for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That when the new uniform is distributed to the 

troops, the clothing of the old style no longer to be issued, incapable 
of alteration, shall be sold by the Secretary of War at public auction 
after due public notice by advertisement; and the gross proceeds of 
such sales shall be covered into the Treasury. 

* * * 

Act of Adarch 3, 1873 {17 Stats., 602). 

AN ACT to provide for the care and preservation of the cemetery near the City of 
Mexico, purchased in accordance with the act of September twenty-eighth, eighteen 
hundred and fifty. 

That the President of the United States is authorized to provide out 
of the ordinary annual appropriations for establishing and maintaining 
United States military cemeteries, for the proper care and preserva¬ 
tion and maintenance of the cemetery or burial ground near the City of 
Mexico, in which are interred the remains of officers and soldiers of 
the United States, and of citizens of the United States, who felk in 
battle or died in and around said city; and that this cemetery shall be 


222 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


subject to the rules and regulations affecting United States national 
military cemeteries within the limits of the United States, so far as 
they may, in the opinion of the President, be applicable thereto. 

April 23, 1874 Temporary issue of disused army clothing may be made 

for the relief of the sufferers by the overflow of the Lower Mississippi River. [By 
the act of May 13,1874 (18-46) the authority given was to expire September 1,1874.] 

May 28, 1874 Obsolete clothing to be issued to destitute people on the 

Tomhigbee, Warrior, and Alabama rivers. 

Act of June 16, 187Jp {18 Stats., 72). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 

ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and for other purposes. 

* ■X- * 

. . . Provided, That none of the money hereby appropriated 

shall be used in the purchase of hats, uniform caps, forage caps, 
uniform coats, uniform jackets, flannel sack coats, and unlined coats, 
which articles the Quartermaster’s Department shall issue from the 
supply now on hand, known as the old pattern; and none of the arti¬ 
cles above enumerated shall be purchased until those now on hand are 
exhausted. 

* * * 

February 10, 1876 {18-314 ).—Issues of disused army clothing may be made, to pre¬ 
vent suffering and extreme want, to all persons on the western frontier rendered des¬ 
titute by ravages of grasshoppers during the summer last past. This act to expire 
September 1, 1875. 

June 18, 1874 {18-83 ).—Ten thousand complete suits of clothing to be reserved 
from surplus stock and sold to National Homes for Disabled Volunteers. 

Act of Alarch 3, 1876 {18 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT in relation to the Quartermaster’s Department, fixing its status, reducing 
its numbers, and regulating appointments and promotions therein. 

That the Quartermaster’s Department of the Army shall hereafter 
consist of the Quartermaster-General, with the rank, pay, and emolu¬ 
ments of a brigadier-general; four assistant quartermasters-general, 
with the rank, pa}^, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; eight dep¬ 
uty quartermasters-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
lieutenant-colonels of cavalry; fourteen quartermasters, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry; and thirt}^ assistant quar¬ 
termasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of cavalr}^ 

Sec. 2. That no more appointments shall be made in the grade of 
military storekeepers in the Quartermaster’s Department, and this 
grade shall cease to exist as soon as the same becomes vacant b}" death, 
resignation, or otherwise of the present incumbents. 

Sec. 3. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
deprived of his commission by reason of any provision of this act. 

Sec. 4. That no officer shall be promoted or appointed in the Quar¬ 
termaster’s Department in excess of the organization prescribed by 
this act, and that so much of section six of the act approved March 
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, entitled ‘‘An act making appro¬ 
priations for the support of the Army for the year ending June thir¬ 
tieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for othei* purposes,” as applied 
to the Quartermaster’s Department, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 


223 


THE QUAETERMASTER’s DEPARTMENT. 

Act of March S, 1876 (18 Stats., Jf2). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . Pi^wided, That no part of this sum shall be paid for the 

use of any patent process for the preservation of cloth from moth or 
mildew. 

* * * 

August 15, 1876 {19-203) .—Necessary transportation to have artificial limbs fitted, 
to be furnished by the Quartermaster-General. 

January 26, 1877 {19-409). —Two hundred blankets to be issued to Reform School 
in District of Columbia. 

REVISED STATUTES—2nd edition—1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of— 

* -X- -X- 


A quartermaster’s department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1132. The Quartermaster’s Department of the Army shall con¬ 
sist of one Quartermaster-General, with the rank of brigadier-general; 
six assistant quartermasters-general, with the rank of colonel of cav¬ 
alry; ten deputy quartermasters-general, with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel of cavalry; twelve quartermasters, with the rank of major of 
cavalry; thirty assistant quartermasters, with the rank of captain of 
cavalry; and such number of military storekeepers, not exceeding 
sixteen, as may be required, with the rank of captain of cavalry. 
Nothing herein shall deprive of his office any person now holding the 
office of quartermaster with the rank of major. All appointments in 
the Quartermaster’s Department shall be made from the Army. Dur¬ 
ing the absence of the Quartermaster-General, . . . the Presi¬ 
dent is authorized to empower some officer of the-Department . . . 

to perform the duties of Quartermaster-General, . . . during 

such absence. 

Sec. 1133. It shall be the duty of the officers of the Quartermaster’s 
Department, under.the direction of the Secretary of War, to purchase 
and distribute to the Army all military stores and supplies, and to 
provide for and pay all incidental expenses of the military service 
which other corps are not directed to provide for and pay. 

Sec. 1134. Assistant quartermasters shall do duty as assistant com¬ 
missaries of subsistence when so ordered by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1135. The officers of the Quartermaster’s Department shall 
upon the requisition of the naval or marine officer commanding any 
detachment of seamen or marines under orders to act on shore, in 
cooperation with land troops, and during the time such detachment is 
so acting or proceeding to act, furnish the officers and seamen with 
camp equipage, together with transportation for said officers, seamen, 
and marines, their baggage, provisions, and cannon, and shall furnish 
the naval officer commanding any such detachment, and his necessary 
aids, with horses, accouterments, and forage. 

Sec. 1136. Permanent barracks or quarters shall not be constructed 


224 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


unless detailed estimates shall have been previously submitted to Con¬ 
gress and approved by a special appropriation for the same, except 
when constructed by the troops; and no such structures, the cost of 
which shall exceed twenty thousand dollars, shall be erected unless b}'^ 
special authority of Congress. It shall be the duty of all officers of the 
United States having any of the title papers (property purchased or 
about to be purchased for erection of public buildings) in their posses¬ 
sion to furnish them forthwith to the Attorney-General. No public 
money shall be expended until the written opinion of the Attorney- 
General shall be had. 

Sec. 1137. The Quartermaster-General may employ as many forage 
masters and wagon masters, not exceeding twenty in the whole, as he 
may deem necessary for the service, who shall be entitled to receive 
each fifty dollars per month and three rations per day and forage for 
one horse. No forage master or wagon master shall be concerned, 
directly or indirectly, in any means of transport employed by the 
United States, or in the purchase or sale of any property procured for 
or belonging to the United States, except as agent for the United 
States. 

Sec. 1138. No officer belonging to the Quartermaster’s Department, 
or doing the duty of a quartermaster or assistant quartermaster, shall 
be concerned, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any arti¬ 
cle intended for or appertaining to said department of service, except 
on account of the United States; nor shall any such officer take or 
apply to his own use any gain or emolument for negotiating or trans¬ 
acting any business connected with the duties of his office other than 
that which may be allowed by law. 

Sec. 1139. The Quartermaster-General, under the direction of the 
Secretary of War, shall prescribe and enforce a system of accounta¬ 
bility for all quartermaster’s supplies to the Army or to officers, sea¬ 
men, and marines. And he shall account to the Secretary of War at 
least once in three months for all property and money that may pass 
through his hands or the hands of his subordinate officers. 

* * * 

Sec. 1191. All officers of the Quartermaster’s . . . depart¬ 
ments, . . . and all storekeepers shall, before entering upon the 

duties of their respective offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the 
United States, in such sums as the Secretary of War may direct, faith¬ 
fully to account for all public monej^s and property which the}" may 
receive. The President may at any time increase the sum so pre¬ 
scribed. But the Quartermaster-General shall not be liable for any 
money or property that may come into the hands of the subordinate 
officers of his department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Quartermaster-General, . . . shall be 

appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the . . . Quartermaster’s 

. . . departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 1221. Every officer who receives clothing or camp equipage for 
the use of his command or for issue to the troops shall render to the 
Quartermaster-General at the expiration of each regular quarter of 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


225 


quarterly returns of such supplies, according to the forms 
which ma}^ he prescribed, accompanied by the requisite vouchers for 
any issues which shall have been made. Said returns and vouchers, 
after due examination by the Quartermaster-General, shall be trans¬ 
mitted for settlement to the proper accounting officer of the Treasurv 
Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any military stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 

* * * 

Sec. 1296. The President may prescribe the uniform of the Army 

and quality and kind of clothing which shall be issued annuallv to the 
troops of the United States. 

Sec. 1297. No allowance of clothing shall be made to sergeants of 
ordnance. 

Sec. 1298. The Secretary of War may . . . order gratuitous 

issues of clothing to soldiers who have had contagious diseases, and to 
hospital attendants who have nursed them, to replace any articles of 
their clothing destroyed b}^ order. 

* * * 

Sec. 1437. Authorizes the President to detail, temporarily, three 

competent naval officers for the service of the War Department in the 
inspection of transport vessels, etc. 

* * * 

Sec. 1647. . . . Each brigade [of militia called into service] 
. . . shall have . . . one assistant quartermaster, . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 3714. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for the 

military . . . serviceshallbemadeby or under the direction of the 

chief officers of the Departments of War, . . . And all agents or 

contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render their 
accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper Department for 
which such supplies or services are required, subject, nevertheless, to 
the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasury, . . 

* * * 

Sec. 3716. The Quartermaster’s Department of the Army, in obtain¬ 

ing supplies for the military service, shall state in all advertisements 
for bids for contracts that a preference shall be given to articles of 
American production and manufacture produced on the Pacific coast 
to the extent of the consumption required by the public service there. 
In advertising for army supplies the Quartermaster’s Department shall 
require all articles which are to be used in the States and Territories of 
the Pacific coast to be delivered and inspected at points designated in 
those States and Territories; and the advertisements for such supplies 
shall be published in newspapers of the cities of San Francisco, in 
California, and Portland, in Oregon. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made unless the same is authorized by law or is under an 

S. Doc. 229-15 


226 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War . . . 

Departments, for clothing, . . . forage, fuel, quarters, or trans¬ 

portation, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the cur¬ 
rent year. 

* * * 

Sec. 4791. The Secretary of War is authorized and directed to fur¬ 

nish [to men entitled to artificial limbs] transportation to and from their 
homes and the place where they may be required to go to obtain arti¬ 
ficial limbs provided for them under authority of law. The transpor¬ 
tation allowed for having artificial limbs fitted shall be furnished by 
the Quartermaster-General of the Army, the cost of which shall be 
refunded from the appropriations for invalid pensions. 

* * * 

Sec. 4874. The superintendent of the national cemeteries shall be 

selected from meritorious and trustworthy soldiers, either commis¬ 
sioned officers or enlisted men of the Volunteer or Regular Army, who 
have been honorably mustered out or discharged from the service of 
the United States, and who may have been disabled for active field 
service in the line of duty. 

Sec. 4875. The superintendent of the national cemeteries shall 
receive for their compensation from sixty dollars to seventy-five dol¬ 
lars a month each, according to the extent and importance of the ceme¬ 
teries to which they may be respectively assigned, to be determined 
by the Secretary of War; and they shall also be furnished with quar¬ 
ters and fuel at the several cemeteries. 

* * * 

Sec. 4877. In the arrangement of the national cemeteries established 
foi* the burial of deceased soldiers . . . the Secretary of War is 

hereby directed to have the same inclosed with a good and substantial 
stone or iron fence; and to cause each grave to be marked Avith a small 
headstone or block, which shall be of durable.stone and of such design 
and weight as shall keep it in place when set, and shall bear the name 
of the soldier and the name of his State inscribed thereon, Avhen the 
same are known, and also with the number of the grave inscribed 
thereon, corresponding with the number opposite to the name of the 
party in a register of burials to be kept at each cemetery and at the 
office of the Quartermaster-General, which shall set forth the name, 
rank, company, regiment, and date of death of the officer or soldier; 
or if these are unknown, it shall be so recorded. 

* * * 

Sec. 4879. The President is authorized to provide, out of the ordi¬ 
nary annual appropriations for establishing and maintaining United 
States military cemeteries, for the proper care and preservation and 
maintenance of the cemetery or burial ground near the City of Mexico 
in which are interred the remains of officers and soldiers of the United 
States who fell in battle or died in and around said city. 

Sec. 4880. The cemetery in Mexico shall be subject to the rules and 
regulations afiecting United States national military cemeteries within 
the limits of the United States, so far as they may, in the opinion of 
the President, be applicable thereto. 


THE QUAETERMASTEK’s DEPARTMENT. 


227 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

February S, 1879 {20-281 ').^—Authorizes erection of headstones over the graves of 
soldiers buried in private, village, or city cemeteries in same manner as provided for 
soldiers interred in national cemeteries. 


Act of March 3, 1881 Stats., 48S). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

For the purchase of a suitable site in the city of Washington for the 
erection of a brick {ind metal fireproof building to bo used and occu¬ 
pied by the Pension Pureau, the building to be erected in accordance 
with plans approved b}^ the Secretary of War and the Secretary of 
the Interior, under the supervision of the Quartermaster-General of 
the United States Army,^ the site for which shall be selected by him, 
subject to the approval of the Secretaries aforesaid, both as to location 
and price, ... 

[All the old clothing now held for issue to the National Home to be 
turned over to the managers of the Home.] 

* * * 

March 11, 1882 (22-378 ).—Provides for transportation of rations, etc., to sufferers 
from overflow of the Mississippi River. Hospital tents may be used to furnish them 
temporary shelter. 


Act of June 30, 1882 {22 Stats., 117). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Provided, That there shall be no discrimination in the issue of forage 
against officers serving east of the Mississippi River, provided they are 
required by law to be mounted and actually keep and own their 
animals. 

* * * 


Act of March 3, 1883 {22 Stats., If 6). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

1*AY DEPARTMENT. 

For pay of the Army— . . . '.Provided, . . . , and here¬ 
after vacancies occurring in the Quartermasters’ . . . depart¬ 
ments of the Army may in the discretion of the President be tilled 
from civil life. 

* * * 


1 The act of August 7, 1882 (22-302) reappropriated the sum appropriated ni this 
act, and placed the construction of the building under the supervision of Gen. Mont¬ 
gomery C. Meigs, late Quartermaster-General, retired. 




228 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of March 3, 1883 {22 Stats. ^ 56 f). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers’ Home, located at V asliington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

* * . * 

Sec. 10. That the Board of Commissioners of the Soldiers’ Home 
shall hereafter consist of the . . . Quartermaster-Greneral, . . . 

* * * 

February 12,1884 {23-267 ).—Clothing and other necessaries maybe issued to desti¬ 
tute persons in the district overflowed by the Ohio River and its tributaries, and tents 
used to furnish them temporary shelter. Additional appropriation for this purpose 
was made by resolution of February 15, 1884 (23-268). 

March 27,1884 {23-269 ).—exceeding $125,000 of the appropriation for the Ohio 
sufferers may be used for the relief of destitute persons in the district overflowed by 
the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Resolution of June 7, 1884 (23-273) allows, 
the same purpose, the unexpended api)ropriation for the relief of the Ohio sufferers. 


Act of July 5, 1884- {23 Stats. ^ 107). 

AN ACT making ai)pro})riations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other j^urposes. 

-X- * ;; 

QUARTEHMASTEK's ])EPAUTMENT. 

. . . Providef That hereafter all purchases of regular and mis- 

cellaiieous supplies for the Army furnished by the Quartermaster’s 
Department . . . for immediate use shall be made by the officers 

of such Department, under direction of the Secretary of War, at the 
places nearest the points where they are needed, the conditions of cost 
and quality being equal: Provided also. That all purchases of said 
supplies, exce})t in cases of emergency, which must be at once reported 
to the Secretary of War for his approyal, shall be made by contract 
after public notice of not less than ten days for small amounts for 
immediate use, and of not less than from thirty to sixty da 3 xs when- 
eyer, in the opinion of the Secretary of A ar, the circumstances of the 
case and conditions of the seryice shall Avar rant such extension of time. 
The award in eyeiy case shall be made to the loAA^est responsible bidder 
for the best and most suitalde article, the right being reserA^Rl to 
reject any and all bids. The Quartermaster-General . . . shall 

report promptl}" all purchases of supplies made by his Department, 
with their cost price and place of deliyeiy, to the Secretary of AVar 
for transmission to Congress annualH: Providedfurtlier. That in time 
of peace the number of draught and pack animals in the Quartermas¬ 
ter’s Department of the Army shall not exceed six thousand, and that 
all transportation of stores by priyate parties for the Arni}^ shall be 
done by contract, after due legal adyertisenient, except in cases of 
emergency, which must be at once reported to the Secretaiy of War 
for his approyal; that the Secretary of AVar is authorized to appoint, 
on the recommendation of the Quartermaster-General, as many post 
quartermaster-sergeants, not to exceed eight}", as he may deem neceS' 
sary for the interests of the seryice, said sergeants to be selected by 
examination from the most competent enlisted men of the Army 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 


229 


who have served at least four years, and whose character and educa¬ 
tion shall lit them to take charg-e of puhlic property and to act as 
clerks and assistants to post and other quartermasters. Said post 
quartermaster-serg*eants shall, so far as pracdicahle, |)erform the duties 
of storekeepers and clerks, in lieu of citizen employees. The post 
quartermaster-serg-eants shall he su])ject to the rules and articles of 
war and shall receive for their services the same pay and allowances 
as ordnance sergeants. 

. . . Provided^ That the number ot‘ horses purchased under this 

appropriation, added to the number actually on hand, shall not at any 
time exceed the number of enlisted and Indian scouts in the mounted 
service: And provided further^ That hereafter all purchases of 
horses under appropriations for horses for the cavalry and artillery 
and for the Indian scouts shall be made Iiy contract, after legal adver¬ 
tisement, by the Quartermaster's Department, under instructions of 
the Secretary of War, the horses to be inspected under the orders of 
the (teneral Commanding the x4rmv, and no horse shall be received and 
paid for until duly ins})ected. The Quartermaster-deneral shall report 
to the Secretary of War prom]:)tly, for transmission to Congress annually, 
all purchases and contracts for horses, mules, and militaiy supplies for 
the Army made by his Department. 

-X- -X- * 

Provided^ That no expenditure exceeding live hundred 
dollars shall be made upon any building or military post without the 
a])proval of the Secretary of War for the same iq)on detailed estimates 
of the Quartermaster’s Department, and the election, construction, and 
repairs of all buildings and other public structures in the Quarter¬ 
master’s Department shall, so far as ma}^ be practicable, be made by 
contract, after due legal advertisement. 

* * * 

June 30, 1886 {24-98 ).—No part of appropriation for imrracks and quarters shall be 
paid for coinniutation of fuel, and for quarters to officers or enlisted men. 

Fehruarij 9, 1887 {24-394 -).—No expenditures exceeding |500 to be made on any 
building, etc., without approval of the Secretary of War. 

June 20, 1888 {25-623 ).—Tents and tent equipage maybe loaned to veteran organi¬ 
zations of the Society of the Arm}^ of the Potomac on tlie twenty-fifth anniversary 
of the battle of Gettysburg. [J. K.^, June 30, 1888 (25-625), changes “tent equipage ” 
in above to ‘ ‘ camp equipage. ’ ’ ] 

Act of 8eptend)er 22^ 1888 {25 Stats.., 5^1). 

AN ACT making a])propriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other purposes. 

* -X- * 

. . . Provided., That hereafter no part of this appropriation shall 

be expended in the purchase for the Army of draught animals until 
the number on hand shall be reduced to live thousand, . . . 

* -x- * 

. . . but the cost of construction of quarters at any one post shall 

in no case exceed eight hundred dollars, except where a post is situated 
at a city of more than fifty thousand inhabitants, the cost of construc¬ 
tion of such quarters may be not to exceed twelve hundred dollars. 

* * * 

^kiTch 31,1890 {26-33 ).—Authorizes i)urchase of 2,500 tents for the use of the peo¬ 
ple in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi driven from their homes by floods. 


230 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


June 13, 1890 {26-163). —The artillery detachment at West Point to be mustered out 
and the men immediately reenlisted as army service men in the Quartermaster’s 
Department. 

February 24 , 1891 {26-770). —Transportation furnished by the Quartermaster’s 
Department to officers traveling without troops shall be limited to transportation in 
kind, not including sleeping or parlor car accommodations, over free roads, over 
bond-aided Pacific railroads, and by conveyance belonging to that Department. 

July 16, 1892 {27-174). —Sergeants of ordnance to receive the same allowance of 
clothing as other sergeants in like staff departments. 

July 27, 1892 {27-276). —Specimens of equipments, uniforms, etc., used in battle of 
Gettysburg to be delivered to the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. 

Post exchanges may use public buildings or public transportation when, in the 
opinion of the Quartermaster-General, not required for other purposes. 

Act of 2£arch ^9^ 189Jf. {28 Stats. ^ 4-7). 

AN ACT to regulate the making of property returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of the Treasury 
Department returns of public property intrusted to the possession of 
officers or agents, the Quartermaster-General . . . shall certify 

to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department, for debit¬ 
ing on the proper account, any charge against any officer or agent 
intrusted with public property, arising from any loss, accruing by his 
fault, to the Government as to the property intrusted to him. 

* * * 

July 26, 1894 {28-151). —Number of men in the detachment of army service men at 
the ^Military Academy may be raised to 150 if deemed by the Secretary of War to be 
required. 


Act of August 6, 1894 {^^ Stats.., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 

* -x- * 


FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

Pmvided., That . . . hereafter all appointments to fill 

vacancies in the lowest grade in the . . . Quartermaster’s . . . 

Department, respectively, shall be made from the next lowest grade in 
the line of the Army. 

* * * 

... Provided further., . . . That purchases may be made 

in open market in the manner common among business men when the 
aggregate amount required does not exceed two hundred dollars, but 
every such purchase shall be immediately reported to the Secretary of 
War. 

* * * 

January 16, 1895 {28-627). —Strength of detachment of army service men at the 
Military Academy, together with the cavalry detachment, not to exceed 215 men. 

March2,1895 {28-764) .—Abolishes section 229, Revised Statutues, requiring annual 
statement of contracts for supplies or service. 

March 24 , 1897 {30-216). —Authorizes purchase of 1,000 tents for the relief of suf¬ 
ferers from the flood in the Mississippi River. 

May 27, 1897 {30-220).— purchase of clothing for the relief of destitute 
citizens of the United States in Cuba. 

July 19, 1897 {30-224).—One thousand tents to be issued for use of Grand Army 

encampment at Fort Leavenworth. 


THE quartermaster’s DEPARTMENT. 231 

December 18, 1897 {30-226 ).—Transportation to be furnished for stores, etc., for the 
relief of persons in the Yukon River Country. 

March 19,1898 {30-737 ).—Tents may be loaned for use of the thirty-second national 
encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic at Cincinnati. 

Act of April 1898 {30 Stat., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one chief quartermaster, . . . who shall have- 

. . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel. . . . The staff of the com¬ 
mander of a division shall consist of . . . one chief quartermas¬ 
ter, . . . who shall have . . . the rank of major. . . . 

The staff of the commander of a brigade shall consist of . .^ . one 

assistant quartermaster, . . . with the rank of captain. . . . 

* * * 

May 18, 1898 {30-417 ).—Prescribes mode of issuing quartermaster stores for desti¬ 
tute inhabitants of Cuba. 

June 7, 1898 {30-433). —Suspends, during existing war, certain provisions of law 
limiting number of horses and draft animals, etc. The act of March 3,1899 (30-1350), 
limits suspension to March 1, 1900. Suspension continued to June 30, 1901, by act 
of February 24, 1900. (31 -.) 

Act of July 1, 1898 {30 Stat., 571). 

AN ACT to authorize appointment of a military storekeeper in the Army. 

That the President is hereby authorized to nominate and, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a military store¬ 
keeper in the Quartermaster’s Department of the Army; and all laws 
inconsistent herewith are hereby suspended for the purpose of this act 
only. 

Act of July 7, 1898 {30 Stats., 7U). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the Quartermaster’s Department of the Army. 

That during the existing war and for a period not exceeding one 
year thereafter the Secretary of War may make such distribution of 
the duties and labors of the Quartermaster’s Department as may be 
deemed for the best interests of the service, and may assign a suitable 
officer in charge of each of such divisions, and may assign to duty as 
special inspectors of the Quartermaster’s Department not exceeding 
four officers to be selected from the regular and volunteer officers of 
the department; and such officers and the quartermaster on the staff 
of the Commanding General of the Army while so acting shall have 
the rank next above that held by them and not above colonel. 

Sec. 2. That the President may nominate and, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, may appoint two quartermasters of volun¬ 
teers with the rank of colonel, two quartermasters of volunteers with 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, three quartermasters of volunteers with 
the rank of major, and twenty assistant quartermasters, of volunteers 
with the rank of captain, and the Secretary of War may assign an offi¬ 
cer of the Quartermaster’s Department in charge of each principal 


232 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


depot of the Quartermaster’s Department, not exceeding twelve, to be 
selected from the regular and volunteer officers of the Quartermaster’s 
Department’, and such officers while so acting shall have the rank next 
above that held by them and not above colonel, and the four principal 
assistants of the Quartermaster-General while so acting shall have the 
rank of colonel. The Secretary of AVar may assign such of the said 
volunteer quartermasters as may be deemed necessary to duty in the 
office of the Quartermaster-General at the various supply depots or 
on other important and special work, and may continue such assign¬ 
ments for a period not exceeding one year after the close of the war, 
then to be discharged. 

of July 8, 1898 {30 Stats., 7^8). 

AN ACT to increase the number of post quartermaster-sergeants in the United States 

Army. 

That the number of post quartermaster-sergeants of the Army be 
increased by the addition of twenty-live post quartermaster-sergeants, 
to be appointed by the Secretary of War in the manner now provided 
by law. 

Act of March 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army 
of the United States shall consist of ... a Quartermaster’s 
Department, . . . : Provided, That when a vacancy shall occur 

through death, retirement, or other separation from active service, in 
the office of storekeeper in the Quartermaster’s Department . . . , 

respectively, now provided for b}^ law, said offices shall cease to exist. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Quartermaster’s Department . . . shall 
consist of the officers and enlisted men now provided by law: . 

* -x- * 

Sec. 11. That so much of the act approved July seventh, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-eight, as authorizes the assignment of certain offi¬ 
cers of the Quartermaster’s . . . departments with increased rank, 

and the continuance in service of certain volunteer officers of those 
departments for a period of one year after the close of the present war, 
is repealed. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Thirty quartermasters with the rank of major, and forty assistant 

quartermasters with the rank of captain. 

* * * 

March 30, 1900 {31 -).—Provision of section 355, Revised Statutes, waived so far 

as refer to erection of buildings at Fort Du Pont, Del., for the shelter of troops. 

March 3, 1899 {30-1350) .—Suspends until March 1, 1900, provisions of law limiting 
number of horses and draft animals; amount of printing; services of employees. 
Suspension extended to June 30, 1901, by act of February 24, 1900. (31-.) 


233 


THE QUAKTEEMASTER’s DEPARTMENT. 

Act of Fehruary 1901 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States, . . . shall consist of ... a Quartermaster’s Depart- 

nient: . . . Provided.^ That when a vacancy shall occur through 

death, retirement, or other separation from active service in the office 
of storekeeper, now provided for b}" law in the Quartermaster’s 
Department . . . said office shall cease to exist. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the Quartermaster’s Department shall consist of one 
Quartermaster-General with the rank of brigadier-general, six assist¬ 
ant quartermasters-general with the rank of colonel, nine deputy 
quartermasters-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, twenty 
quartermasters with the rank of major, sixty quartermasters with the 
rank of captain, mounted; the military storekeeper now provided for 
by law, and one hun(\red and fifty post quartermaster-sergeants: Pro- 
mded.^ That all vacancies in the grade of colonel, lieutenant-colonel, 
and major created or caused by this section shall be filled# by promo¬ 
tion according to seniority, as now prescribed by law. That to fill 
original vacancies in the grade of captain created by this act in the 
Quartermaster’s Department the President is authorized to appoint 
officers of volunteers commissioned in the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment since April twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight: 
Provided fuTthei\ That the President is authorized to continue in 
service, during the present emergency, for duty in the Philippine 
Islands and on transports, twenty-four captains and assistant quarter¬ 
masters of volunteers. This authority shall extend only for the period 
when their services shall be absolutely necessary. 

* * * 

Sec. 20. That the grade of veterinarian of the second class in cav¬ 
alry regiments. United States Army, is hereby abolished, and here¬ 
after the two veterinarians authorized for each cavalry regiment and 
the one veterinarian authorized for each artillery regiment shall receive 
the pay and allowances of second lieutenants, mounted. Such number 
of veterinarians as the Secretary of War may authorize shall be em¬ 
ployed to attend animals pertaining to the quartermaster’s or other 
departments not directly connected with the cavalry and artillery regi¬ 
ments, at a compensation not exceeding one hundred dollars per month. 
* * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding perma¬ 
nent appointments in the . . . Quartermaster’s Department, . . . 
including those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of cap¬ 
tain and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seven¬ 
teen, twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted 
according to seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, 
and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vai^ancies 
which can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for which 
the officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any 
vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall 
occur which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section, 
it shall be filled by detail froin the line of the Army, and no more per- 


234 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

manent appointments shall be made in those departments or corps 
after the original vacancies created by this act shall have been tilled. 
Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, 
under such system of examination as the President may from time to 
time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in any staff department until they shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pa}^, and allowances now pro¬ 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided^ That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart¬ 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
hy law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

* * * 

Act of March 1901 {31 Stats., -). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* -X- * 

Provided, That appointments to fill original vacancies ... in 
the grade of captain in the Quartermaster’s Department, . . . may 

be made from officers of volunteers commissioned since April twenty- 
first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. ... 



I 













THE SUHSrSTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 


The earliest legislation relative to the subsistence of the Army is 
found in the resolution of the Continental Congress dated June 16, 
1775, creating the office of Coniirissary-General of Stores and Provi- 
sions. The range of duties of that office was so extensive that much 
dissatisfaction prevailed with respect to the administration of the 
atfairs of the department, and Congress, June 10, 1777, instituted a 
new system, creating two great branches—one under a Commissary- 
General of Purchases and the other under a Commissary-General of 
Issues, the former, by resolution of June 11, ‘‘to keep his office in 
the place where Congress shall sit.” The ordinance of June 17, 1777, 
regulating the Clothing Department, placed it in charge of a Clothier- 
General, and, April 10, 1782, this officer was directed to receive his 
instructions from the War Office. November 25, 1779, the two 
departments of purchase and issues, heretofore acting under the' 
direction and control of a committee of Congress, were placed under 
the superintendence of the Board of War. 

July 10, 1781, Congress directed the Superintendent of Finance to 
procure on contract all necessary supplies for the Army, and under 
this resolution the commissariat system of subsisting the Army was 
discontinued and the methods of contracts for rations adopted in its 
stead. 

There was no further legislation on the subject of subsistence of the 
Army until after the reorganization of the Government under the 
Constitution. 

The act of March 8, 1792, again devolved upon the Treasury Depart¬ 
ment the duty of making all purchases and contracts for supplying the 
Army with provisions, etc., and by the act of February 23, 1795, the 
Treasury official charged with that duty was denominated “purveyor 
of public supplies.” This act was repealed by the law of July 16, 
1798, which required all purchases and contracts for supplies to be 
made under the direction of the Secretary of War. 

The act of March 16, 1802, provided for three militarj^ agents and 
assistants, whose duty was to purchase, receive, and forward to their 
proper destination all military supplies. But the military agency sys¬ 
tem proved to be unsatisfactory and was abolished b}^ the act of March 
28, 1812, which created anew the office of Commissary-General of Pur¬ 
chases. This office was abolished by act of August 23, 1842, and its 
duties transferred to the Quartermaster’s Department. 

The act of April 14, 1818, first created the office of Commissary- 
General, the incumbent to be appointed as soon as the state of exist¬ 
ing contracts for the subsistence of the Army would permit. The 
new system did not, however, go into operation until June 1, 1819. 

237 



238 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

Commissary-General of Stores and Provisions. 


July 19, 1775.—Joseph Truiubull. 

Commissary-General of Purchases. 

June 18, 1777.—Joseph Trumbull. 

Aug. 5, 1777.—William Buchanan. 

Apr. 9, 1778.—Jeremiah Wadsworth. 

Dec. 2, 1779.—Ephraim Blaine. 

Commissary-General of Issues. 

June 18, 1777.—Charles Stewart. 


Clothier-General. 


Apr. 4, 1777.—James Mease. 
June 24, 1779.—Peter Wikoff. 
July 15, 1779.—Persifor Frazer. 
July 24, 1779.—James Wilkinson. 
Apr. 17, 1781.—John Moylan. 


Commissary oj Hides. 


June 20, 1777.—Peter Philips. 

Aug. 5, 1777.—George Ewing. 

Jan. 28, 1779.—John Mehelm (for New Jersey). 

Commissary of Purchases. 

Aug. 8, 1812.—Callender Irvine. 

Oct. 11, 1841.—J. W. Tyson. 


Commissary-General. 

Apr. 18, 1818.—Col. (Bvt. Maj. Gen., May 30, 1848) George Gibson (Pennsylvania). 
Sept. 29, 1861.—Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., Feb. 9, 1863) Joseph P. Taylor (Kentucky). 
June 29, 1864.—Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen., Mar. 13, 1865) Amos B. Eaton (New 
Hampshire). 

June 23, 1874.—Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen., Mar. 13, 1865) Alexander E. Shiras 
(New Jersey). 

Apr. 14, 1875.—Brig. Gen. Robert Maofeely (Pennsylvania). 

July 10, 1890.—Brig. Gen. Beekman du Barry (District of Columbia). 

Dec. 22, 1892.—Brig. Gen. John P. Hawkins (Indiana). 

Oct. 8, 1894.—Brig. Gen. Michael R. Morgan (Louisiana). 

Jan. 17, 1897.—Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Sullivan (Ohio). 

Nov. 14, 1897.—Brig. Gen. William H. Bell (Pennsylvania). 

Jan. 28, 1898.—Brig. Gen. Samuel T. Cushing (Rhode Island). 

Apr. 21, 1898.—Brig. Gen. William H. Nash (Ohio). 

May 3, 1898.—Brig. Gen. Charles P. Eagan ( Washington Territory). 

Dec. 6, 1900.—Brig. Gen. John F. Weston (Kentucky). 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPABTMENT. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

June J 1775. 

Upon motion, Resolved^ That it be recommended to the gov^ernment 
of Connecticut, or the general of the forces of that colony, to appoint 
commissaries to receive at Albany and forward the supplies of provi¬ 
sions for the forces on Lake Champlain from the provincial conven¬ 
tion of New York, and that the said convention use their utmost 
endeavors in facilitating and aiding the transportation thereof from 
thence to where the said commissaries may direct. 

June 16, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That there be one Commissary-General of 

Stores and Provisions. 

That his pay be eighty dollars per month. 

July 17, 1775. 

Resolved^ That a commissary of stores and provisions be appointed 
for the New York department during the present campaign. 

Walter Livingston, esq., chosen to that office. 

July 19,1775. 

Resolved, That Joseph Trumbull be Commissarv-General of Stores 
and Provisions for the Army of the United Colonies. 

July m, 1775. 

Resolved^ That the pay of the . . . be . . . 

Deputy commissary-general of stores and provisions, sixty dollars 
per ditto [month]. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the . . . Commissary-General . . . and 

eveiy of their [his] deputies shall take an oath truly and faithfully to 
discharge the duties of their respective stations. 

July 31,1775. 

Resolved, That the above-named gentlemen [Messrs. Langdon, 
J. Adams, Hopkins, Deane, Clinton, Crane, Franklin, Rodney, John¬ 
son, Henry, Hewes, Gadsden, and Hall] be a committee in the recess 
of the Congress to inquire into the cheapest and easiest methods of 
making salt in these colonies. 

July 31,1775. —Announces appointment by Congress of Joseph Trumbull as Com¬ 
missary-General to the Army of the United Colonies. {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge.) 

239 



240 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


August 8, 1775 .—“The following is the ration of provisions allowed by the Conti¬ 
nental Congress unto each soldier, viz, 1 lb. of fresh beei or | of a lb. of pork or 1 lb. 
of salt fish per diem; one pound of bread or flour per diem; 3 pints of peas or beans 
per week or vegetables equivalent, at 5s. per bushel for peas or beans; 1 pint of milk 
per man per diem when to be had; one-half pint of rice or 1 pint of Indian meal per 
man per week; 1 quart of spruce beer per man or 9 gallons of molasses for company 
of 100 men; 3 lbs. of candles to 100 men per week for guards, etc.; 24 lbs. of soft or 
8 lbs of hard soap per 100 men per week.” {Orders^ General HeadquarterSy Cam¬ 
bridge. ) 

September 1775. 

Resolved^ . . . That the deputy commissary-general be directed 

to pay to Dr. Stringer for the medicines he has purchased for the use 
of the Army, and that he purchase and forward such other medicines as 
General Schuyler shall, by his warrant, direct for the use of said Army. 

September 21 y 1775 .—“The General has thought proper to order and direct that 
from the first day of July last there be issued by the Commissary-General the follow¬ 
ing proportion of rations, viz: To each major-general, 15 rations; to each brigadier- 
general, 12 rations; to each colonel, 6 rations; to each lieutenant-colonel, 5 rations; 
to each major, 4 rations; to each captain, 3 rations; to each subaltern, 2 rations, and 
to each staff officer, 2 rations. ( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge .) 

September 1775. 

Besolred^ That a committee be appointed to purchase a quantity of 
woolen goods for the use of the Army to the amount of live thousand 
pounds sterling. 

That the said goods, when bought, be placed in the hands of the 
quartermasters-general of the Continental armies, and that the same be 
by them sold out to the private soldiers of said armies at prime cost 
and charges, including a commission of five per centum to the said 
quartermasters-general for their trouble. 

That the committee consist of five. 

The ballot being taken and examined, the following members were 
chosen: 

Mr. Lewis, Mr. Alsop, Mr. Willing, Mr. Deane, and Mr. Langdon. 

October 3, 1775. 

Resolved^ That the Commissary-General contract for such quantities 
of beef and pork as may be thought proper by the General, and have 
the same salted up in convenient houses near the camp, according to 
his scheme recommended by the General to the consideration of the 
Congress. 

October 5, 1775. 

Resolved^ That a letter be sent to General Washington to inform 
him that Congress, having received certain intelligence of the sailing 
of two north-country built brigs of no force from England on the 11th 
of August last, loaded with . . . stores for Quebec, without con¬ 

voy, which it being of importance to intercept, desire that he apply to 
the council of Massachusetts Bay for the two armed vessels in their 
service and despatch the same, with a sufficient number of people, 
stores, etc., particularly a number of oars, in order, if possible, to 
intercept the said two brigs and their cargoes and secure the same for 


THE 8UBSISIENCE DEPAllTMENT. 


241 


the use of the continent; also any other transports laden with . . . 

clothing and other stores, for the use of the ministerial army or navy 
in America, and secure them in the most convenient places for the pur¬ 
pose above mentioned. . . . 


No^jemher 1775. 

Resolved.^ That 3,000 felt hats, 3,000 worsted caps, 3,000 pair of 
buckskin breeches, 3,000 pair of shoes, 3,000 pair of yarn stockings, 
and 3,000 waistcoats, suitable for the season, be immediately purchased 
and sent to the army under the command of General Schuyler, to be 
sold to the soldiers at prime cost, including charges of carriage and 
live per cent to the deputy quartermaster-general, by whom the said 
goods are to be sold. 

* * * 

Resolved., That as much duffels or kersey as will make three hun- 
dree watch coats be purchased and sent to General Schuyler, with 
needles and thread, to be made into watch coats, and that these be 
charged to the continent and kept for the use of the out centries. 

Resolved^ That a committee of three be appointed to purchase the 
foregoing articles. 

The members chosen, Mr. Alsop, Mr. Lewis, and Mr. Sherman. 

November 1775 .—The resolve of this date and those of September 23 and October 
23, 1776, relating to clothing belong properly under this head, but Congress, in these 
three instances, devolved the duty on the Quartermaster-General. 

November 1775. 

Resolved., That a ration consist of the following kind and quantity 
of provisions: 

1 lb. beef, or f lb. pork, or 1 lb. salt fish per day. 

1 lb. bread or flour per day. 

3 pints of pease or beans per week, or vegetables equivalent, at one 
dollar per bushel for pease or beans. 

1 pint of milk per man, or at the rate of of a dollar. 

1 half pint of rice, or 1 pint of Indian meal per man per week. 

1 quart of spruce beer or cider per man per day, or nine gallons of 
molasses per company of 100 men per week. 

3 lb. candles to 100 men per week for guards. 

24 lb. soft or 8 lb. hard soap for 100 men per week. 

* * * 

Resolved, That clothing be provided for the new army by the conti¬ 
nent, and paid for by stoppages out of the soldiers’ wages, at If dol¬ 
lars per month; that as much as possible of the cloth for this purpose 
be dyed brown, and the distinctions of the regiments made in the 
facings. 

That a man who brings a good new blanket into the camp be allowed 
two dollars therefor, and take it away at the end of the campaign. 

Resolved, That in order to supply the Army with provisions, the 
Commissary-General be directed to cause cattle and hogs to be driven, 
at proper seasons, to the camp, there to be slaughtered and cured, 
and as to the articles of bread and flour, that he proceed in the way 
that he has done for some time past. 

S. Doc. 229-16 


242 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Novembers, 1775. —“If, upon such a conference [with General Schuyler] it shall 
he judged necessary, you are authorized to direct Mr. Livingston, the deputy com¬ 
missar v-general, to furnish the necessary provisions for an army of three thousand 
men for six months.” {Letter of committee to Me^isrs. R. R. Livingston, Robert Treat 
Paine, and J. Langdon, who had been directed to consult with General Schuyler relative 
to number of forces necessary in the Northern Department and Canada.) 

November 18, 1775.—^' The Commissary-General to order all the horns of the bul¬ 
locks that are killed for the use of the Army to be saved and sent to the Q. M. Gen¬ 
eral, who is also to provide as many as he can get, and have the whole made into 
good })owderhorns for the use of the troops.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Cam¬ 
bridge.) 

Decemher 8, 1775. 

Resolved^ That Mr. Thomas Ijowry be appointed to supply the bat¬ 
talions raised in New Jerse}" with the rations and other necessaries 
allowed them dollar per ration). 

December 24, 1775. —“By order of His Excellency General Washington, a board of 
general officers sat yesterday in Cambridge and unanimously recommended the fol¬ 
lowing rations to be delivered in the manner hereby directed, viz, corned beef and 
i:)ork, four days in a week; salt fish, one day; and fresh beef, two days. As milk 
can not be procured during the winter season, the men are to have one ])Ound and a 
half of beef or eighteen ounces of pork jjer day; half pint of rice or a pint of indian 
meal per week; one quart of spruce beer per day, or nine gallons of molasses to one 
hundred men per week; six pounds of candles to one hundred men per week, for 
guards; six ounces of butter or nine ounces of hog’s lard per week; three pints of 
pease or beans i:)er man per week, or vegetables equivalent, allowing six shillings per 
bushel for beans or pease, two and eiglit f»ence per bushel for onions, one and four 
pence per bushel for potatoes and turnips; one pound of flour per man each day; 
hard bread to be dealt out one day in a week in lieu of flour. The above allowance 
is ordered to be issued hy the Commissary-General to all the troops of the United 
Colonies serving in the department, until the honorable the Continental Congress or 
tlie Commander in Chief thinks proper to alter it.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge .) 

December 26, 1775. —Numerous complaints by officers having been made, November 
14, 1775, against Commissary-General Trumbull, “first, for not delivering out the 
back allowance of pease or fhe value thereof in money to the officers and men; sec¬ 
ond, for taking in onions at 2s. 6d. and delivering them at 4s.; third, for taking in 
potatoes at Is. 4d. and delivering them out at 2s.,” a court-martial was ordered to sit 
December 25, 1775. “The court, on mature consideration, beg leave to report to his 
excellency that the first articles of the charge is groundless, that the second and 
third articles are confessed by the Commissary-General, and, though t'e court are 
fully satisfied there was not the least design of fraud in Mr. Trumbull, they are 
unanimously of opinion that the measure was pernicious and injudicious.” {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

December 29, 1775. —“The Commissary-General having estimated the value of the 
different species of provisions which constitute a ration under the continental allow¬ 
ance, and finding it to amount to seven pence half penny lawful money, the General, 
having seen the said estimate, approves of it and orders that they be settled with 
accordingly.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

January 3, 1776. 

Besolved^ That the following goods and stores ought to be imported 
as soon as possible, for the use of the United Colonies, viz: 

60,000 striped blankets. 

120,000 3 ^ards of 6-4 cloths, brown and blue, from-3s. to 6s. ster. 

10,000 yards of do. difierent colors, for facings, at 4s. 

3,000 pieces of duffils, or some such cloth. 

100 M sorted needles. 

50 M do. none fine. 

10 M do. for sailcloth. 

3,000 pieces of raven’s duck. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


243 


3,000 pieces ticklenburgs. 

1,500 pieces oznaburgs. 

1,000 pieces of vitrey. 

4,000 pieces Hamburg dowlas. 

* * * 

Resolved^ That the secret committee be empowered and directed to 
pursue the most eftectual measures for importing the foregoing articles. 

January 10, 1776 .—Rations were allowed as follows: Colonel, 6; lieutenant-colonel, 
5; major, 4; captain, 3. [While this resolve referred directly to line officers, it is 
assumed that it governed similar allowances to staff officers.] 

January ^5, 1776. 

Resolved., That Mr. James Mease be appointed a commissary to 
supply the battalions ordered to be raised in Pennsylvania with the 
articles allowed by Congress; and that he be allowed for his trouble 
one and one-fourth per cent in full of all charges for the money passing 
through his hands, and that he give security for the just and faithful 
expenditure of the same. 

That Mr. Lynch and Mr. Allen take the security. 

February 17., 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That the appointment of John Halsted, esq., to 

be commissary for the army before Quebec, be confirmed. 

Xarch W, 1776. 

Resolved^ That a deputy commissary-general of stores and provisions 
be appointed for the army of the United Colonies in Canada. 

The ballots being taken and examined, 

Mr. J. Price was elected. 


April 17, 1776. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be empowered to import car¬ 
goes of salt on the Continental account, in such ships or vessels as 
they employ to carry outward cargoes, and are obliged to insure on 
their return. 

April 19, 1776. 

Resolved, That an immediate supply of . . . shoes and blankets 

be furnished for the troops in Virginia, and that proper persons be 
appointed to procure them, subject to the orders of Congress already 
entered into. 

Resolved, That Mr. Ephraim Blaine be appointed to purchase a 
quantity of blankets not exceeding 5,000, and also that he be directed 
to purchase 5,000 pairs of shoes to be sent to Virginia, to the com¬ 
manding ofiicer at Williamsburgh. 

April 27, 1776. 

Congress also proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary- 
general for supplying the troops in Virginia with rations; and the bal¬ 
lots being taken and examined, 

William Aylett, esq., was elected. 


244 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May U, 

Resolved, That there be allowed to the several persons undermen¬ 
tioned, employed in the Commissary-GeneraPs Department, in the 
Continental Army, the wages and rations annexed to their names, 
respectively, during the time they have been and shall continue in 
the service of the United Colonies. 

IN THE ISSUING STORE AT CAMBRIDGE. 

Charles Miller, issuing storekeeper, 50 dollars per month and d 
rations. 

Peter Roe Dalton, first clerk, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 3 
rations. 

Ebenezer Perry and Thomas Durant, clerks in store, 3s. 4, do., and 
2 rations. 

William Brown and Josiah Brown, clerks at scales, 3s. 4,do.,and 2 
rations. 

Robert Davis, clerk of weekly allowances, 3s. 4, do., and 2 rations. 

Eight laborers, one cooper, and one cook, each 2s. 8, lawful money, 
a day and 1 ration. 

Employed to issue to two brigades. 

IN THE STORE AT ROXBURY. 

Aaron Blaney, issuing storekeeper, 50 dollars per month and 4 
rations. 

James Richardson, first clerk, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 3 
rations. 

Two clerks in store and two at scales, each 3s. 4, do., and 2 rations. 

Six laborers, one cooper, and one cook, each 2s. 8, do., and 1 ration. 

Employed to issue to two brigades. 

ON PROSPECT HILL. 

Peter Philips, issuing storekeeper, 40 dollars a month and 4 rations. 

Griffin Green, first clerk, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 3 rations. 

One clerk in store and one at scales, each 3s. 4, lawful money, a day 
and 2 rations. 

One cooper and four laborers, each 2s. 8, do., and 1 ration. 

Employed to issue to one brigade. 

AT MEDFORD. 

Moses Emerson, issuing storekeeper, 40 dollars a month and 4 rations. 

Israel Mead, first clerk, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 3 rations. 

One clerk in store and one at scales, 3s. 4, do., and 2 rations. 

One cooper and four laborers, each 28. 8, do., and 1 ration. 

Employed to issue to one brigade. 

IN THE MAGAZINE AT CAMBRIDGE. 

Samuel Gray, Reuben Stiles, and Daniel Brown, clerks and maga¬ 
zine keepers, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 3 rations. 

One cooper, 2s. 8, lawful money, a day and 1 ration. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


245 


IN THE MAGAZINE AT ROXBURY. 

Jabez Porter and James Jaunee}" Pendleton, clerks and magazine 
keepers, 4s. 8 , lawful 11101103 % rations. 

One cooper, 2 s. 8 , do., and 1 ration. 

Joseph Farnsworth, commissaiT to Colonel Arnold’s detachment, 
returned from Fort Halifax, £ 10 , lawful money, a month and 3 rations 
per day. 

Joseph Thomas, emplo 3 "ed constantly in riding to collect stores, 
procure teams, etc., himself and horse, 8 s., lawful money, a day and 3 
rations. 

William Herkins and Elisha Aveiy, principal bookkeepers and 
pa 3 ^ers of small bills, £ 10 , lawful money, a month and 3 rations per 
day. 

Resolved^ That an addition of 40 dollars a month be made to the pay 
of the Commissarv-General. 


June S, 1776. 

Resolved.^ That the Commander in Chief be authorized to form and 
fix such magazines of provisions . . . as he ma}" judge necessary. 

June J, 1776. 

Resolved^ That the deput}" commissaries-general, . . . make 

regular returns and reports to Congress and to the respective officers 
to whom they are deputies at least once a month, and that the princi¬ 
pals also make returns to Congress at the same periods. 

June IS, 1776. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be directed to stop the exporta¬ 
tion of any salted provisions which they may have ordered to be made 
from New York. 


June 19, 1776. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the assemblies and conventions 
of the United Colonies forthwith to cause a suit of clothes—of which 
the waistcoat and breeches may be made of deer leather (if to be had 
on reasonable terms), a blanket, felt hat, two shirts, two pairs of hose, 
and two pairs of shoes—to be manufactured, or otherwise procured at 
reasonable rates, in their respective colonies, for each soldier of the 
American Aruy^ enlisted therein for the present campaign, and that 
the same be baled, invoiced, and stored in suitable places, to be deliv¬ 
ered to the order of Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the 
American Arm 3 ^ 


July 6, 1776. 

Resolved, That Carpenter Wharton be appointed commissary, to 
supplv with rations the militia who are immediately to march from 
Pennsylvania to New Jersey, until the Commissary-General shall order 
otherwise. 


246 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 8, 1776. 

BesoVved^ . . . That the Commissary-General have full power 

to supply both armies—that upon the lakes as well as that in New 
York—and also to appoint and employ such persons under him, and 
to remove any deputy commissary, as he shall judge proper and 
expedient, it being absolutely necessary that the supply of both armies 
should be under one direction. 

July 31, 1776. 

Besolmd, . . . That the delegates of that State [North Caplina] 
employ some proper person, as a commissary, to purchase in this city, 
or the neighborhood thereof, clothing for the troops raised in that 
State for the Continental service. 

August 2, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the Commissary-General and deputy com¬ 
missaries in the several departments be directed to transmit to Con¬ 
gress weekly an account of the sums of money they may respectively 
receive from the paymasters. 

* * * 

That the Commissary - General, . . . deputy commissaries, 

. . . be directed to make monthly returns, at least, of the stores 

under their direction, and the distribution of them. 

August 28, 1776. 

Resolved, That 500 pounds of gunpowder be delivered to the said 
Mease and Caldwell for the purpose of procuring deerskins to make 
breeches for the soldiery in the service of the United States; they to 
be accountable. 

That the secret committee be directed to fall upon proper ways and 
means of procuring a further supplv of deerskins, for the like purpose, 
from Georgia and South Carolina. 

August 29, 1776. 

That George Measam, esq., be continued in the office of superin¬ 
tendent commissary of stores, except artillery stores, for the northern 
army, with the pay of 33i dollars per month. 

September 14, 1776 .—Deputy Commissary Armstrong accepted his appointment. 

Septemher 23, 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to devise ways and 
mens for providing clothing . . . for the Army. 

The members chosen, Mr. R. H. Lee, Mr. Wythe, and Mr. R. Morris. 

September 2If, 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to devise ways and 
means for effectually providing the northern army with provisions. 

The members chosen, Mr. Rush, Mr. Hall, Mr. Chase, Mr. Johnson, 
and Mr. Stockton. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


247 


Septemher ^<5, 1770. 

Resolved^ . . . That a committee of Congress, consisting of 

one delegate from each State, he appointed, with authority to employ 
proper persons to purchase, in their respective States, a sufficient num¬ 
ber of blankets and woolens lit for soldiers’ clothes, and that they take 
the most eflectual and speedy methods for getting such woolens made 
up and distributed among the regular Continental Army in such pro¬ 
portions as will best promote the public service, and that they also pur¬ 
chase all other necessary clothing for the soldiers in such proportion 
as they judge, upon the best information, will be wanted. . . . 

That Mr. J. Mease . . . use the utmost diligence in buying, 

collecting, and getting made immediately as many more of those* arti¬ 
cles [white shirts, shoes, and stockings] as possible, making weekly 
returns to Congress of what he obtains. 

* * -X- 

Resolved, That the commissaries ... in the several depart¬ 
ments be directed to apply to Mr. Mease for such articles of clothing, 
camp equipage, and other utensils which they may want to purchase 
in the State of Pennsylvania for the use of the Army. 

Congress then proceeded to the appointment of the committee, when 
the following gentlemen were chosen, viz: 

Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Paine, Mr. Ellery, Mr. Williams, Mr. Floyd, Mr. 
Stockton, Mr. Ross, Mr. McKean, Mr. Paca, Mr. Wythe, Mr. Hewes, 
Mr. Middleton, and Mr. Hall. 

Octoher 8, 1776. 

Resolved, That for the further encouragement of the noncommis¬ 
sioned officers and soldiers who shall engage in the service during the 
war a suit of clothes be annually given each of the said officers and 
soldiers, to consist, for the present year, of two linen hunting shirts, 
two pairs of overalls, a leathern or woolen waistcoat with sleeves, one 
pair of breeches, a hat or leathern hat, two shirts, two pairs of hose, 
and two pairs of shoes, amounting, in the whole, to the value of twenty 
dollars. . . . 

October 9, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That a commissary of clothing be appointed for 

each of the armies of the United States, whose duty shall be to make 
constant returns to the assemblies or conventions of the respective 
States of the clothing wanted for their several regiments, to receive 
and pay for the same, to deliver it to the paymasters of the respective 
regiments. . . . 

That the Commissaiy-General be empowered to appoint as man}" 
conductors for the commissary of stores and assistants to the commis¬ 
sary of clothing as he shall, "from time to time, judge necessary, and 
report their names to Congress. 

That there be a deputy commissary of stores for the Army at New 
York, with the pay of thirty dollars a month. 

October 10, 1776. 

Resolved^ That three members be added to the committee of cloth¬ 
ing, in the room of those who are absent. 

The members chosen, Mr. Witherspoon, Mr. Stone, and Mr. Penn. 


248 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

October 11, 1776. 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered to appoint a 
deputy commissary of stores for the army near New York. 

October 16, 1776. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of clothing for 
the northern army; and, the ballots being taken, 

George Measam was elected. 

Resolved, That George Measam be allowed the pay and rations of a 
maior in the Continental service. 

^ ^ 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered to appoint a 
commissary of clothing for the Army under his immediate com¬ 
mand. . 

October 17, 1776. 

Resolved, That a commissary be appointed to supply the battalion 
commanded by Colonel Mackay with provisions. 

The ballots being taken, 

Ephraim Blaine, esq., was elected. 

October 21, 1776. 

Resolved, That the deputy commissary-general in Virginia be 
directed to make contracts for the suppty of the troops in that depart¬ 
ment, provided they can be made at a rate not exceeding eight pence, 
Virginia currency, a ration, the contractors to have the use of the 
public wagons on any motion or march of the Army from the place or 
places where stationed. 

That the commander in chief of each department be empowered, at 
the instance of the Commissary-General or his deputies, to employ as 
many persons under him or them at such salary or wages as he shall 
think adequate and as he may think the service from time to time 
requires. 

Resolved, . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 

on the staff in -the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows, and that the deputy commissary of Virginia be informed 
thereof: 

To the deputy commissary-general, 6 rations; . . . that the 

deputy commissary-general of Virginia be allowed his reasonable 
travelling charges. ... 


October 22, 1776. 

The secret committee reported that the cargo lately arrived at Ports¬ 
mouth in the brig Marquis of Kildare, Captain Palnier, consists of the 
following articles, viz: . . . 4 to 500 jackets, 100 knapsacks, 100 
le^gins, ... 2 bales of woolens, 1 bale of linens, . . . 

Whereupon, 

Resolved, That . . . 100 knapsacks, 100 leggins, ... be 

sent to the Northern Army, under General Schuyler and General Gates. 

That the jackets, if fit for soldiers, be sent to the Northern 
Army. . . . 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 249 

That the two bales of woolens be made up into soldiers’ clothes for 
the Northern Army. 

That the bale of linens, if lit for soldiers’ shirts or other purposes 
for the Army, be made up and sent to the Northern Army. . . . 

November 1776. 

Resolved., That clothing be provided for the new Army by the Con¬ 
tinent and paid for by stoppages out of the soldier’s wages at If dol¬ 
lars per month; that as much as possible of the cloth for this purpose 
be dyed brown and the distinctions of the regiments made in the 
facings. 

That a man who brings a good new blanket into the camp be allowed 
two dollars therefor, and take it away at the end of the campaign. 

Resolved., That in order to supply the Army with provisions the 
Commissary-General be directed to cause cattle and hogs to be driven, 
at proper seasons, to the camp, these to be slaughtered and cured, and 
as to tne articles of bread and Hour that he proceed in the way that 
he has done for some time past. 

November 19., 1776. 

Resolved., That the Commissary-General or his deputies make weekly 
returns of all rations issued or paid to the officers and privates of any 
regiment, troop, or compan}^ in the service of the States to the Adjutant- 
General or his deputies, to be by him inserted in the general returns 
of the Army and transmitted to Congress monthly. 

November 22, 1776. 

Resolved, That the commissaries in each department be directed to 
employ proper persons to take immediate charge of the hides and tal¬ 
low in their respective districts, that the former may be tanned into 
leather or, at least, so far cured as to prevent their being spoiled, and 
the latter rendered into kegs or casks, that there be no waste of those 
valuable articles, but that they may be stored for the use of the con¬ 
tinent and be subject to the orders of Congress, and that said commis¬ 
saries be strongly urged to pay due attention to this resolve, it being 
a matter of considerable importance. 

November 22,1776. —Messrs. Paca, of Maryland; Ross, of Pennsylvania, and Wither¬ 
spoon, of New Jersey, were constituted a committee to repair to General Washington’s 
headquarters to confer with and assist him in improving the present state of the Army, 
which, owing to past and future disbandments, may be met by a largely superior 
force. 

November 26, 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. Mease, the Continental commissary in the city 
of Philadelphia, be directed to go to the several shops and stores in the 
said city and purchase for the use of the Army of the United States 
such articles as are necessary for them at this and the approaching 
season of the year, and that he be empowered to employ as many per¬ 
sons as he shall judge necessary to assist him in this service. 

That the council of safety of Pennsylvania be requested, with all 
possible expedition, to cause application to be made to the housekeepers 
and others in the said State for as many blankets and woolen stockings 


250 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

as each can spare for the use of the soldiers under the immediate com¬ 
mand of General Washington in New Jersey, and that they be deliv¬ 
ered as fast as collected to Mr. Mease, the Continental commissary. 

That it be recommended to the said council of safety to appoint per¬ 
sons to appraise the blankets and woolen stockings so collected, as 
aforesaid, that the value of them may be paid. 

November <27, 1776, 

A letter from Mr. Ross, Mr. Paca, and Mr. Witherspoon was read, 
informing that they have been appointed an assistant . . . com¬ 

missary, to provide for a number of sick and take care of stores sent 
to Princeton. 

Ordered, That the President inform them that Congress approves 
of the appointments. 


Novemhrr 28, 1776. 

Resolved, That the Commissary-General be empowered to import 
such quantities of rice from the Southern States as he shall think 
necessary for the use of the Army. 

November 29^ 1776. —Congress ordered that a garden be kept on the grounds of 
hospitals on Mount Independence to supply vegetables for the Army. 

December 1,1776. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be directed to appoint one or 
more trustv person to proceed to the Eastern States, . . . and 

that the said person or persons have power to purchase, or cause to 
be purchased, such necessary clothing as can be procured in those 
States, . . . 

* * * 

Resolved, . . . That Mr. J. Mease be directed to purchase all 

the hats and caps he can procure proper for soldiers, and to emplo}^ 
as great a number of ta 3 dors as possible in making up clothes for 
soldiers. 

December 12^ 1776. —Owing to the approach of the enemy, Congress ordered that 
the clothing in and near Philadelphia be put under control of General Putnam, who 
was charged with the defense of the city. 

December 21, 1776. 

Resolved, That proper magazines of provisions for the Army be 
immediately formed in or near Philadelphia. 

December 24 , 1776. —The magazines provided for by resolve of December 21 were 
to be magazines of provisions. The report, if any was made under this resolve, 
does not appear to be of record. 


December 26, 1776. 

Revived, That J. Trumbull, esq., be empowered to import, at the 
Continental risk, from Virginia and Maryland and the other Southern 
States, such quantities of flour and other provisions as he may judge 
necessary for the support of the Army. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 


251 


December <27, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That General Washington be empowered to 

appoint . . . a clothier-general for suppl 3 dng the Army, to lix 

their salaries, and return their names to Congress. 

* * * 


December 28, 1776. 

Resolved, That in the opinion of (Congress the Northern Army ma}’’ 
be supplied more advantageously and con veil ientW in the present mode 
of the Commissaiw-General’s governing himself by such regulations 
as have been and ma}^ be from time to time ordained b^^ the General 
or Commander in Chief than b}^ contractors. 

December SO, 1776. 

Resolved, That a letter be written to General Washington desiring 
him to order the clothier-general to send agents into each State to bu}^ 
up linens and other clothing proper for the soldiery; . . . and that 

they be severally directed to apply to the States to afford all necessary 
assistance therein. . . . 

December 30, 1776 .—It appearing extremely difficult, if not impracticable, to sup¬ 
ply the Army with bacon, salt beef, pork, soap, tallow, and candles. Congress resolved: 
‘ ‘ That none of the said articles, except such as may be necessary for the crew of any 
ship or vessel, he exported from any of the United States after the 5th of January, 
1777, until the first day of November next, or until Congress shall take further action 
therein.” 

December 31, 1776. —Congress desired General Washington to order the clothier- 
general to send agents into each State to buy up linen and other clothing proper for 
soldiery. 

January 8, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That Colonel Morgan appoint a proper person 

deputy commissary for providing and taking care of the provisions 
for the garrisons upon the western frontiers of Virginia and to take 
care of the provisions and other Continental stores laid up at those 
places, for Indian expeditions and other public purposes. 

January SO, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the salary of Mr. Commissary Aylett . . . 
be augmented to the sum of 75 dollars per month. . . . 

February 5, 1777. 

Resolved, That William Aylett, esq., deputy commissary -general, be 
directed forthwith to purchase, with as much secrecy as possible, and 
lav up in proper magazines, convenient to water carriage, under the 
care and management of trusty storekeepers, a quantity of good mer¬ 
chantable Indian corn, not exceeding 10,000 barrels. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the commissioners at the Court of France be directed 
to use their utmost endeavors to send, without delay, 80,000 blankets, 
40,000 complete suits of clothes for soldiers, of green, blue, and brown 


252 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


colors, with suitable facings and cloth of the same colors, with trim¬ 
mings sufficient for 40,000 suits more, 100,000 pairs of stockings fit for 
soldiers, ... to such parts of the United States as the secret 
committee shall direct; . . . 


February m, 1777. 

Resolved., That General Schuyler be empowered to make the most 
advantageous use of the salt springs mentioned in his letter of the 23d 
of January last; to employ proper persons, skilled in making salt, and 
to purchase boilers and other things necessary for the purpose. 

March m, 1777. 

Resolved.^ That it be recommended to the legislatures, or, in their 
recess, to the executive powers of each of the United States, to cause 
assessments of blankets to be made, in order to furnish their several 
quotas of soldiers with an article so necessary to defend them from the 
inclemency of the weather and damp air in their encampments, and 
that all blankets to be obtained in this manner be valued to a just and 
reasonable price, and paid for by the States, respectively, to be repaid 
by the United States, and that the legislatures, or, in their recess, the 
executive power, do cause money to be put into the hands of a proper 
officer in every county, district, or township in order that such blankets 
may be paid for, without delay or trouble, to the householders on 
whom the assessments shall be made. 

March 31, 1777. 

Congress having received advice that the ship Mercury, of Nantz, is 
arrived at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, with a cargo for the United 
States, consisting of ... 48 bales of woolens, 9 bales of hand¬ 

kerchiefs, thread, cottons, and printed linens, 2 cases of shoes, 1 box 
of buttons and buckles, 1 box of lawns, and one case of needles and silk 
neckcloths, 

* * * 

Ordered, That the secret committee deliver . . . the remainder 

of the cargo [as above] to the clothier-general or his order. 

April 1, 1777. 

Resolved, That Ephraim Blaine, esq., be appointed commissary for 
supplying with provisions the troops now in the county of Cumber¬ 
land, in Pennsylvania, and such as may hereafter march through that 
county, as well as the artificers and troops who shall be employed in 
the magazine and laboratory to be erected at Carlisle. 

April J, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the issuing commissaries be obliged to 

deliver monthly to the Commissary-General of Musters an abstract of 
the rations drawn or retained by the several regiments. 

April 4,1777 .—General Washington, agreeably to the powers vested in him, lately 
appointed James Mease clothier-general for the American Army. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


253 


April 18, 1777. 

Resolved, That a meiiiber be added to the Committee on the Commis¬ 
sary’s Department. . . . 

The member chosen, Mr. Roberdeaii. 

* * * 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to devise ways and 
means of supplying the Army with fresh beef on the most reasonable 
terms. 

The members chosen, Mr. Burke, Mr. Sherman, Mr. L. Morris, Mr. 
R. H. Lee, and Mr. Rumsey. 

April 18, 1777 .—John Armstrong, who was appointed brigadier-general March 1, 
1776, resigned April 4, 1777, and, in the absence of a regular inspector, was requested 
by Congress to inspect the magazines of provisions under the care of Commissary 
Wharton, authorizing him to call on the commissaries for all necessary information, 
and, if he found the magazines in a perishing or neglected state, to take proper steps 
for their regulation. Commissary Wharton and his deputies were ordered to pay 
due obedience to his directions. 


Apill 19, 1777. 

Resolved, That three members be added to the said committee [on the 
commissary’s department]. . . . 

The members chosen, Mr. Duane, Mr. W. Smith, and Mr. Gerry. 

April m, 1777. 

Resolved, That James Mease, clothier-general, be directed to deliver 
to General Mifflin, Quartermaster-General, or his order, all the cloth 
in his possession fit for tents. 

Aprril ^S, 1777. 

Resol/ved, That the Committee on the Commissary’s Department and 
the committee appointed to devise means for supplying the Army with 
fresh beef be consolidated, and that Mr. Trumbull be directed to con¬ 
fer with the said committee. 


2raij 3, 1777. 

Resolved, That Christopher Ludwig be appointed superintendent of 
bakers and director of baking in the Grand Army of the United States; 
that he have power to license, with the approbation of the Commander 
in Chief or officer commanding at any principal post, all persons to be 
employed in this business, and to regulate their pay, making proper 
report of his proceedings, and using his best endeavors to rectify all 
abuses in the article of bread. 

That no person be permitted to exercise the trade of baker in the 
said Army without such license; and that he receive for his services 
herein an allowance of 75 dollars a month and two rations a day. 

AlayS, 1777. 

Ordered, . . . That the said [secret] committee furnish the 

clothier-general with copies of the invoices of all clothing and articles 
that relate to his department [recently imported from France], that 
he may give the proper orders relative thereto. 


254 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May U, 1777. 

Resolved., . . . The Commander in Chief and the commander in 

any separate department shall be authorized to allow such quantities 
of forage and for and during such times as they shall think proper, to 
the . . . Commissary-General and his deputies . . . Pro¬ 

vided, always. That if any of the officers above mentioned, their depu¬ 
ties, or assistants should be allowed forage in consequence of any 
general orders hereafter given, and should nevertheless not keep any 
or so many horses as they Avould be permitted to draw forage for, in 
such case no forage shall be issued for more horses than the}^ really 
have, nor shall they at any time thereafter be allowed any forage as 
back allowance or any money in lieu thereof. 

Ma\j SO, i777.—“The Commissary-General is to adopt every means in his power 
to provide vinegar for the use of the Army.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Mid- 
dlebrook .) 

June 3, 1777. 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to devise ways 
and means for supplying the United States with salt. 

The members chosen, Mr. J. B. Smith, Mr. Marchant, and Mr. 
Frost. 

* * * 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to devise ways 
and means for supplying the Army with shoes, hats, and shirts. 

The members chosen, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Clark, and Mr. J. B. Smith. 

June 7, 1777. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general furnish each noncommissioned 
officer and soldier enlisted in the Army of the United States, to serve 
three years or during the war, with the articles of clothing enumerated 
by a resolution of Congress of the 8th October last, or other clothing 
of equal value, notwithstanding the same cost more than 20 dollars. 

June 10, 1777. 

Resolved, 1. That for supplying the Army of the United States with 
provisions, one Commissary-General and four deputy commissaries- 
general of purchases, and one commissary-general and three deputy 
commissaries-general of issues, be appointed by Congress. 

II. That each of the said commissaries and deputy commissaries be 
authorized to appoint for himself one clerk. 

III. That the deputy commissaries-general have authority to appoint 
as many assistant commissaries to act under them as may from time to 
time be necessary, and the same to displace at pleasure, making returns 
thereof to the commissaries-general, respectively, who shall have full 
power to limit their numbers, to displace such as they shall think disquali¬ 
fied for the trust, and direct their respective deputy commissaries-gen¬ 
eral to appoint others in their stead; that special care be taken by the 
officers empowered as aforesaid to appoint none but persons of prob¬ 
ity, capacity, vigilance, and attachment to the United States, and the 
cause they are engaged in, and to make returns to the Board of War, 
the Commander in Chief, aud the commander of the respective depart- 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 


255 


nientfs, of the a.s.si.stiint eoiiimissaries by them respectively appointed, 
their several |)laees of abode, the time of their appointment and dis¬ 
mission, and the post, place, magazine, or district to which they are 
severally assigned; and that the deputy commissaries-general of pur¬ 
chases and issues in the same district make similar returns to each 
other. 

IV. That the commissary-general of purchases shall superintend the 
deputy commissaries-general of purchases, and assign to each a separate 
district, who shall constantly reside therein, and not make any pur¬ 
chases beyond the limits thereof; and every purchaser employed therein 
shall also have a certain district assignecl to him by the respective 
deputy commissary-general, in which he shall reside, and beyond the 
limits of which he shall not be permitted to make any purchases, unless 
by special order of his superior, directing the quantity and quality of 
provisions so to be purchased beyond his limits, and informing such 
purchaser of the prices given by the stationed purchaser in the district 
to which he may be sent. 

V. That the commissary-general of purchases shall direct the deputy 
commissaries-general in their respective districts to inform themselves 
and assistant, as nearly as may be, of the prices for which the articles 
which they are to procure may be purchased, and that neither they 
nor any of the said assistants employed under their direction exceed 
such prices; and if any deputy commissary-general of purchases shall 
neglect his duty, or be guilty of any fraud or misconduct in his office, 
the Cbmmissary-CTeneral may suspend him, and shall immediatel}" cer¬ 
tify the same to Congress, wdth the reasons for such suspension, and 
appoint a person to act in his stead, with all the powers of a deputy 
commissary-general, until the sense of Congress shall be known thereon. 

VI. That the present Commissary-General, by himself or his depu¬ 
ties, deliver unto the commissary-general of issues, or his deputies or 
assistants, all and ev'ery kind of provisions and other public stores in 
the Commissary-General’s Department, that are now, or at the time 
such delivery shall be made, may be, in any of the posts, places, mag¬ 
azines, and storehouses belonging to the United States, taking dupli¬ 
cate receipts for the same, one set whereof, together with a general 
return of all stores so delivered, to be sent to the Board of Treasuiy, 
that the commissary-general of issues may be charged therewith. 

VII. That it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of pur¬ 
chases, with the assistance of the deputy commissaries-general and 
assistant commissaries-general of purchases, to purchase all provisions 
and other necessaries allowed, or which may hereafter be allow^ed by 
Congress to the troops of the United States, and deliver the same to 
the commissary-general of issues or his deputies or assistants in such 
(piantities, and at such places or magazines as the Commander in Chief 
or the commander in the respective department shall direct. 

VIII. That the commissary-general of issues shall direct the respec¬ 
tive deputy commissaries-general to station one of their assistants at 
eveiT fort, post, place, or magazine where provisions are or may be 
stored. 

IX. That the commissary-general of purchases shall furnish each of 
the deputy commissaries-general and assistants with a book in which 
is to be entered every purchase by them respectively made, and that 
ail the accounts may be kept in the same form, he shall cause the 
pages of such book to be divided into ten columns in the tirst of 



256 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


which shall be entered the year, month, and day in which any purchase 
is made; in the second, the names of the persons from whom; in the 
third, in what place; in the fourth, the species and quantity of pro¬ 
visions, and if live stock, the number, color, and natural marks; in 
the fifth, the artificial marks and number; in the sixth, the prices; in 
the seventh, the amount of the purchase money; in the eighth, ninth, 
and tenth, the weight of the meat, hides, and tallow of the live stock, 
as hereafter directed; and the commissary-general of issues shall fur¬ 
nish each of the issuing deputy commissaries-general and assistants 
with a similar book, in which shall be entered all provisions received 
by them from the purchasers, respectively, the first column to contain 
the time of receiving such provisions; the second, the name of the pur¬ 
chaser, and in each of the other columns the entries before directed. 

X. That each purchaser shall enter, in different pages of the said 
book, each species of provisions by him purchased, and, at the end of 
every month, shall foot and transfer the said entries to a general 
account, specifying the quantity, amount, and average cost of each 
article, and shall also, in the course of the next succeeding month, send 
a copy of such account to the respective deputy commissaries-general, 
who shall thereupon make out a monthly return of all the provisions 
purchased in his district, specifying the quantity, amount, and average 
cost of each species, as before directed, together with a copy of each 
purchaser’s accounts, to the board of war and commissary-general of 
purchases within the time limited as aforesaid. 

XI. That the purchasing commissaries shall deliver live stock and 
other provisions required by the commissary or several deputy com¬ 
missaries-general of issues at such place as they shall respectively 
direct. 

XII. That the deputy commissary-general of purchases in each dis¬ 
trict shall specially appoint one or more assistants to purchase live 
stock, who shall cause to be branded on the horns of all cattle by them 
purchased the number and initial letter of their names, respectively, 
and' shall also have power to employ drovers and a person at each 
place to which they may respectively be directed to send cattle, to 
receive, kill, and deliver the same, as hereafter directed. 

XIII. That each drove of live stock, or quantity of provisions, or 
other stores that may be sent to any post, place, or magazine by any 
purchaser shall be accompanied with duplicate invoices taken from 
the entries directed to be made in the books of the purchasing com¬ 
missaries, one of which, together with the live stock or other stores, 
shall be delivered at such post, place, or magazine, to the person 
appointed to receive live stock or to the issuing commissaries, respec¬ 
tively, who, on the other hand, shall give his receipt for the articles 
received, to be transmitted to the purchaser by the person delivering 
the said articles: Provided^ That if any live stock under the care of 
the drover shall be wanted at any other post than that to which they 
were ordered the purchaser’s deputy at such post may detain them, 
taking a copy of the invoice as far as it respects the live stock detained 
and giving his receipt for the same on the back of the said invoice, 
specifying their marks and numbers, and the person to whom the 
residue may be delivered shall give his receipt therefor on the same 
invoice, and detain the other for his use as aforesaid. 

XIV. That each drove of live stock shall be killed under the direc¬ 
tion of the purchaser’s deputy receiving the same, who shall weigh and 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


257 


deliver the meat to the commissary of issues of tlie respective posts, 
together with duplicates of the invoice left by the drover, entering in 
the eighth column the weight of the quarters of the several creatures; 
in the ninth, the weight of the hide; in the tenth, the weight of the 
tallow, and at the foot of each invoice the number of heads and 
tongues; and the commissary of issues shall indorse his receipt on one 
of the invoices and deliver it to the deputy aforesaid, who shall return 
it to the purchaser as his voucher and to enable him to hll up the 
eighth, ninth, and tenth columns of the entries in his book, and the 
other shall be kept b}'' the issuing commissary for his owm use. 

XV. That the commissary-general of purchases shall contract, by 
himself or the respective deputy commissaries-general, wdth one or 
more persons in each district to make or supply a sufficient quantity 
of vinegar for the use of the Army. 

XVI. That the deputy commissaries-general of purchases take special 
care to procure full supplies of vegetables, as being essentially neces¬ 
sary to the health of the Arnw; and they are respectively empowered 
and directed, w ith the advice of the commander in chief or commander 
of the respective district, to hire land therein, and raise such quanti¬ 
ties of vegetables as are wanted and can not be otherwise procured for 
the Arm}-; and for this purpose to employ suitable persons to conduct 
and laborers to assist in carrying on the said business. 

XVII. That the commissary-general of purchases shall, from time 
to time, apply to Congress for all the money wanted in his depart¬ 
ment, and shall make the necessary advances to the respective deputy 
commissaries-general, calling them to account as often as he shall judge 
it necessaiw; and the deputy commissaries-general shall, in like man¬ 
ner, make advances of the money received of the said commissary- 
general to their respective assistants, and call them to account as 
aforesaid. 

XVIII. That the commissary and deput}^ commissaries-general of 
purchases and issues shall respectively be accountable for the conduct 
of the officers of their own appointment, and all the accounts of pur¬ 
chases and issues shall, once in six months, be settled by the respective 
commissaries-general with the proper commissioners of accounts; 
each account of purchases to be vouched by the several bills and 
receipts of the venders, specifying the cost, and the receipts of the 
issuing commissaries, showing the delivery of all articles therein 
charged; and each account of issues by the victualling returns here¬ 
after directed to be made, and receipts for all provisions charged 
therein as rations, or sent by the respective issuing commissary to any 
other; and the commissaries-general shall produce the monthly returns 
of the several purchasing and issuing commissaries, to be used by the 
commissioners in adjusting their respective accounts. 

XIX. That the commissaries-general of purchases .and issues and 
their respective deputies, for neglect of duty or other offences in their 
respective offices, shall be subject to military arrest and trial, by order 
of the Commander in Chief or any general officer commanding a divi¬ 
sion of the Army, post, or department where such neglect of duty or 
offence may happen; and the respective assistants of the deputy com¬ 
missaries-general of purchases and issues shall, for the same causes, be 
liable to military arrest as commissioned officers in the Army by an}" 
general officer or any officer commanding a detached post to which such 
assistants may be assigned. 

S. Doc. 229-17 



258 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OE GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


XX. That the commissary-general of issues shall superintend the 
respective deputy commissaries-general and assign to each a separate 
district, and have full powers to suspend them and appoint others for 
a time, as already appointed for the commissary-general of purchases. 

XXI. That every issuing commissary shall enter in distinct pages 
of the book mentioned in the ninth article each species of provisions 
or other stores received by him, including the provisions delivered by 
other issuing commissaries or the present Commissary-General, and the 
same entries shall be made with respect to these as therein are directed 
when provisions are received from the purchasers, excepting that the 
prices and cost of articles delivered by the said commissaries may be 
omitted. 

XXII. That every issuing commissary shall be furnished with a book 
of issues, in which he shall open a separate account with each regiment, 
corps, or detachment to which he may issue or commissary to which 
he may send or deliver provisions; and each page thereof shall be 
divided into columns, in the first of which shall be entered the time of 
delivery, in the second the name of the officer upon whose return pro¬ 
visions are issued or by whom sent to any other issuing commissary, 
in the third the number of rations, and in other separate columns the 
several quantities of each species of provisions delivered as rations or 
sent to the commissaries as aforesaid. And on the last day of every 
month he shall foot the said accounts and also all the accounts of provi¬ 
sions received and entered in the book mentioned in the preceding 
article. 

XXIII. That every issuing commissary shall take duplicate receipts 
for each quantity of provisions and stores by him sent to an}^ post, 
place, or magazine, agreeably to the form of the entries directed to be 
made in the book of issues, one of which he shall deliver to the officer 
or person employed to deliver said provisions or stores; and the issu¬ 
ing commissary at such post, place, or magazine, or at any intermediate 
post, who may receive such provisions or stores or any part thereof, 
shall certify the quantity on the back of the said receipt, which the 
officer or person who delivered the provisions shall return to the com¬ 
missary that sent them as his voucher; and in.cases of deficiency the 
commissary who sent the provisions shall credit the commissary to 
whom they were directed for the quantity lost, if the same has been 
placed to his debit, and shall charge twice the amount thereof to the 
account of the officer or person employed to deliver it, and shall also 
transmit a copy of the said account to the paymaster or deputy pay 
master-general in the district, who shall send to the issuing commissary 
a receipt for such account, to be produced by him on settlement, and 
shall also deduct the amount thereof from the pay of the delinquent 
and credit the United States therefor: Provided^ That if any provi 
sions or stores shall be lost by unavoidable accident and the same i; 
proved by sworn evidences before the commanding officer of the post 
from or to which such provisions or stores were sent, his certificate, 
with the proof annexed, shall authorize the commissary to cancel such 
charge. 

XXIV. That no provisions be issued to any person but by the writ¬ 
ten order of the Commander in Chief, the commander of any depart¬ 
ment, the Quartermaster-General, any of his deputies or assistants, the 
commanding officer of a post, describing the person in whose favor 
such order shall be given, or upon a return signed by the commanding 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


259 


officer of a corps or detachment thereof, whether commissioned or non¬ 
commissioned, or b}?' the regimental quartermaster. 

XXV. That when any troops are ordered to quit a post and the issu¬ 
ing commissary remains at such post, the respective commanding 
officers of the several regiments or corps shall call on the issuing com¬ 
missary for a certilicate specifying the day to which the}^ were vict¬ 
ualled, inclusively; and in case detachments of dilfercnt regiments or 
corps are made, the commanding officer of such detachments shall pro¬ 
cure a certificate from the commissary, in which shall be inserted the 
days to which the difi'erent troops of which his detachment may be 
composed were victualled, and the next and every subsequent provision 
return for such detachment shall distinguish the corps out of which it 
is formed and the number of each corps, to the end that the commissary 
may charge each corps with the ))rovision issued to it; and if any com¬ 
missary at any other post shall victual any corps or detachment com¬ 
prehended in the foregoing description before such certificates are 
produced he shall charge the officer commanding the same with twenty 
days’ provision for the whole number of men under his care and make 
return thereof to the raymaster-tteneral or deputy paymaster-general 
in the district, who shall make the proper stoppages, and also to the 
Board of Treasuiy, who shall charge him therefor: Provided^ That if 
such certificates be procured and delivered within thirty days after the 
first drawing of such provisions without certificate, the Commissary- 
General shall cancel the charge, keeping the certificate as a voucher 
for so doing: Provided also^ That notwithstanding such certificate 
may be produced, if it shall appear that the officer commanding any 
corps or detachment has drawn more pi-ovision than the corps or 
detachment was entitled to, he shall stand charged the double quantity 
so overdrawn. 

XXVI. That ever}^ issuing commissary shall take receipts for the 
number of rations and for so much of every species of provisions as 
he may issue. 

XXVII. That every issuing commissary, on the last drawing day 
preceding the last drawing dav of every month, shall victual the troops 
up to the last day of the month, inclusive; and if provisions should be 
ordered for troops going on detachments, for such time as would run 
beyond that day, two returns shall be made out, one to the last day of 
the month, inclusive, and one from the first day of the month, inclusive, 
to the time ordered. 

XXVIII. That every issuing commissary shall number the provi¬ 
sion returns, and endorse the same with the date thereof and the 
number of men victualled, and put the returns of each detachment or 
corps on separate files, each to contain the returns of a month for such 
corps or detachment. 

XXIX. That wherever any capital magazine shall be established, 
the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of the department, 
shall order storehouses to be built, and a barrack for fifty men, and 
the same to be enclosed with a stockade. 

XXX. That whenever any provisions or stores in any of the maga¬ 
zines become so damaged as to threaten a total loss of all such darnaged 
provisions, the commissary of issues to whose care such provisions 
may be committed shall make return thereof immediately to the 
deputy commissary-general of issues, who is to apply to the Com¬ 
mander in Chief, or some general officer, to order a court of enquiry. 


260 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

who shall thereupon grant one, and such provisions as may by the 
court be condemned shall be sold at public vendue, under the direc¬ 
tion of the deyjuty commissary-general of issues, public notice being 
given of such sale by advertisements at least ten days before the day 
of sale, unless the court should determine that the same ought to be 
sold at an earlier day. 

XXXT. That every assistant commissaiy of issues shall, within six 
da^^s after the last day of every month, make a return to the deputy 
commissary-general of the district of all provisions and stores in his 
magazine or store at the last preceding return; of all provisions by 
him received in the preceding month; from whom and whence; of 
what he has issued, specifying the regiment and corps and the number 
of rations and the quantity of each species of provisions drawn by the 
same, and of what remains in store. 

XXXII. That each deputy commissary-general of issues shall, from 
the monthly returns of the assistant commissaries, make out a general 
return for the district, specifying what remained in the magazines or 
stores at the last return, what has been received since, the number of 
rations and quantity of provisions issued, and what remains in store, 
distinguishing the several posts, places, magazines, and regiments, or 
corps as aforesaid; one to be sent to the Board of War, one to the Com¬ 
mander in Chief, one to the commander of the department, one to the 
commissary-general of purchases, and one to the commissary-general 
of issues. 

XXXIII. That the commissary-general of purchases and commis¬ 
sary-general of issues, each in his own department, make a general 
monthly return to the Board of War, the Commander in Chief, and the 
commanding olEcer of the respective districts, and take special care 
constantly to provide and furnish each of the officers under him with 
printed forms of the books, invoices, receipts, and returns to be used 
by them respectively, agreeable to these resolves. 

XXXIV. That no returns of rations drawn or returned by the sev¬ 
eral regiments be hereafter made by the issuing commissaries to the 
commissary-general of musters, or by him to the Adjutant-General, 
or by the Adjutant-General to the Board of War, as directed in the 
regulations in the muster-master-general’s department passed by Con¬ 
gress the 4th day of April last. 

XXXV. That the commissaries-general and the respective officers 
under them apply to the Quartermaster-General or his respective offi¬ 
cers for wagons, teams, and horses wanted in the several districts; and 
if at any time it shall be necessary to hire the same they are not to 
exceed the rates stipulated by Congress or the Quartermaster-General 
aforesaid. 

XXXVI. That all persons employed to purchase for the United 
States any articles in the several departments of the commissary-gen¬ 
eral of purchases, quartermaster, director, or clothier general, or the 
commissary-general of military stores shall previously apply to them 
or the principal officers under them, respectively, for certificates of 
the several prices by them allowed for such articles, and shall not, on 
any pretence whatsoever, exceed such prices. And it is recommended 
to the several States to give their purchasers, respectivelv, similar 
directions. 

XXXVII. That the commissary-general of purchases from time to 
time provide sufficient quantities of salt and deliver it to the commis¬ 
sary-general of issues or the respective officers under him, who are 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


^61 


directed to issue to the troops only such quantities and in such manner 
as the Commander in Chief or commander of the respective district 
shall direct. And the commissaiy-general of issues shall direct the 
respective deputy commissaries-general to employ a suitable number 
of coopers and packers, who shall salt and pack provisions at the sev¬ 
eral magazines and stores and take the proper precautions with respect 
to all provisions therein deposited. 

XXXVIII. And whereas great confusion hath arisen from the man¬ 
ner in which officers and soldiers have been paid for rations and parts 
of rations allowed to but not drawn by them, respective!}^: 

Hesolved^ That the parts of a ration be estimated as follows, viz: 
For the daily allowance of beef, pork, or hsh, d-OOth of a dollar; of 
bread or flour, 2-90th; of peas or beans, l-90th; of milk, l-90th; of 
beer, l-90th; of rice, one-half of l-90th; and of soap, one-half of l-90th, 
making in the whole 10-90ths of a dollar for each ration; and that for 
the future the quarteamaster, or other person drawing provision for 
any regiment, corps, or detachment, shall, on the last day of every 
month, make out an abstract of the number of retained rations due to 
each officer, respectively, and also the number of each part of ratioii 
due to such regiment, corps, or detachment, and deliver the same to 
the respective issuing commissary, who shall compare it with his books, 
and, finding it right, shall certify thereon that the several charges in 
the abstract are just, and that such a sum as he shall find to be due 
shall be paid to the respective paymaster of the regiment, corps, or 
detachment, who shall annex the said abstract to the pay roll; that the 

E ay master or deputy paymaster-general of the district may pay, and 
e is hereby required to pay, such ration abstract to the regimental 
paymaster, who is directed to pay the respective officers and soldiers 
and take their receipts. And when any regiment, corps, or detach¬ 
ment or issuing commissary is ordered to leave a post before the end 
of the month the ration abstract shall be made up to the day of his or 
their leaving the post, and certified by the commissaiy as aforesaid. 

XXXIX. That the commissary of issues at every post where cattle 
are killed for the use of the Army appoint a careful person to take 
charge of the hides and tallow, to see that the former are properly 
dried and that the latter is properly rendered, and that both are dis¬ 
posed of as the commissary-general of issues, by order of Congress, 
shall direct. 

XL. That the commissary and deputy commissaries-general of pur¬ 
chases in each department and every purchaser employed under them 
shall take the oath of fidelity to the U nited States. ... 

XLI. That the commissary and deputy commissary-general of issues 
in each department and every issuing commissary employed under 
them shall take the said oath of fidelity. . . . 

June 11, 1777. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of purchases shall keep his 
office in the place where Congress shall sit, and that he or his clerk 
constantly attend therein. 


June IS, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the agents for the United States in Europe 

and the West Indies be directed and enabled by the secret committee 
to effect the importation of salt into these States, on account of the 


262 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


United States, by all vessels bound for America, subject to such regu¬ 
lations and restrictions as the secret committee may direct; 

That it be an instruction to all masters of vessels taking on board 
cargoes for America on account of the United States, if possible, to 
ballast the vessels with salt, unless otherwise specially ordered; 

That it l:)e recommended to the several States to erect and encourage, 
in the most liberal and effectual manner, proper works for the making 
of salt. 

June 16, 1777. 

Eesolved, That the pay and allowance to the commissaries-general, 
deputy commissaries-general, assistants, and persons emplo^^ed under 
them be as follows, to wit: 

To the commissary-general of purchases, 8 dollars and six rations a 
day; 

To the deputy commissaries-general of purchases, each 5 dollars and 
four rations a day; 

To the assistant commissaries of purchases, each 4 dollars per day; 

To the commissaiy-general of issues, 150 dollars a month and six 
rations a da}"; 

To the deputy commissaries-general of issues, each 75 dollars a 
month and four rations a day; 

To the assistant commissaries of issues, each 40 dollars a month and 
two rations a day; 

To the clerks of the commissaries-general and deputy commissaries' 
general, each 35 dollpa*s a month and two rations a day; 

'^o such deputies as purchasers of live stock are empowered to 
employ, for receiving the same at the several posts, each 27 dollars a 
month and two rations a day while in such service. 

Resolved, That the commissaiT-general of purchases be empowered 
to regulate the pay of drovers and butchers and transmit such regula¬ 
tions to Congress; 

That the commissary-general of issues in like manner be empowered 
to regulate and transmit to Congress the pay of coopers, packers, and 
other persons he may find necessary to be employed in such kind of 
services. 

June 17, 1777. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of clothing be directed to 
supply the Army with a sufficient number of combs. 

June 17, 1777 .—The Clothier-General having reported that he finds himself em¬ 
barrassed and perplexed by the occasional interferences of some States who appro¬ 
priate clotliing, and other necessaries imported for or purchased on account of the 
continent, Congress passed a resolution that the several continental agents in the 
different States be directed to deliver out no clothing except on the express order of 
the Commissary-General or liis agents, and that he be furnished with an account of 
all clothing that may be imported as expeditiously as possible after its arrival. 

June 18, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of commissaries and deputy 
commissaries general of purchases and issues, the nominations having 
been previously made; and, the ballots being taken, the following 
gentlemen were elected, viz: 

Joseph ITumbull, esq., commissary-general of purchases; William 
Aylett, AYilliam Buchanan, Jacob Cuvier, and Jeremiah Wadsworth^ 
esqs., deputy commissaries-general of purchases; 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


263 


Charles Stewart, esq., commissary-general of issues; 

William Green Mumford, Matthew Irwin, and Elisha Avery, esqs., 
deputy commissaries-general of issues. 

June W, 1777, 

Resolved, That a suitable person be appointed commissary to receive 
all rawhides belonging to the United States, and that he be authorized 
to exchange the same for tanned leather or men’s shoes, at the cus¬ 
tomary rates of exchange, and have the leather so obtained worked 
into shoes and deliver them to the Clothier-General or his order, taking 
duplicate receipts, which he shall transmit to the Board of Treasury; 

That when the.said commissary shall be of opinion that the said 
exchanges can not be made on reasonable terms he be authorized to 
provide tanyards, materials, and workmen for that purpose, or contract 
with proper persons to tan them on reasonable terms; 

That if oil can not be procured for preparing the curried leather, 
the said commissary be supplied with tallow out of the public stores 
to be used instead thereof, and that he draw for so much as may be 
necessary on any of the commissaries of issues, making a return of the 
quantity so drawn to the deputy commissary-general of issues in the 
district; 

That the said commissaiy of hides shall be supplied with money for 
carrying on the said business, as occasion may require, on application 
to Congress, and that he settles his accounts with the Treasury Board 
once a year, or oftener, if required. 

That the Board of War may order the commissary of hides to deliver 
to the commissary of military stores so much of the leather in his 
hands as may be necessary for making accoutrements, etc., for the 
Army; and that the said commissary shall obey such orders and direc¬ 
tions as may, from time to time, be given to him by the Board of War 
respecting the business of his office and the persons necessary to be 
employed by him in the service, and make returns of his doings to the 
said board when required. 

That the secret committee import a suitable number of felt hats, not 
exceeding 50,000, and linen for as many shirts, for the use of the Army, 
and also import from the Spanish West Indies such a quantity of dried 
hides as they may judge necessary for a further supply of leather for 
shoes and other public uses. 

That it be recommended to the government of the several States to 
procure as much homemade linen, suitable for shirts for the troops, 
as may be obtained on reasonable terms in the respective States, and 
deliver the same to the Clothier-General. 

That the pay of the commissary of hides be 80 dollars a month. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of hides, and, the 
ballots being taken, Peter Philips, esq., was elected. 

June 20, 1777. —The “commissary of hides” has been considered as a subordinate 
to the Commissary-General of Stores and Supplies although, from the last paragraph 
of his instructions, it is uncertain whether Congress did not make him the head of 
an independent office. . ^ . 

June 22, 1777.—The president of the State of Pennsylvania notified Congress that 
John McKallister, a deputy commissary of issues, having been charged with pecula¬ 
tion and embezzlement of public stores and provisions, the council has suspended 
him from pay and employment, pending action of Congress. This body tendered its 
thanks to the governor and council, and requested that they cause McKallister to be 
prosecuted at the expense of the United States. 


264 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

June m, 1777. 

Resolved.^ That Joseph TiTini})ull, esq., and the several piu’sons by 
him lately employed in the commissary’s department, be directed to 
supply the Army with provisions in the mode which they have hereto¬ 
fore practiced until the commissaries-general on the new establishment 
shall be prepared to enter upon the business. 

June 26, 1777 .—Matthew Irwin declined appointment of deputy commissary- 
general of issues. 

July i, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary-general 
of issues in the room of Mr. Irwin, and, the ballots being taken, Robert 
Hoops was elected. 

July 1777. 

Resolved, That the deputy commissaries-general of purchases, respec¬ 
tively, l)e authorized to make reasonable allowances to such of the 
assistant commissaries as are employed in bu 3 dng and collecting live 
stock for all extraordinary travelling expenses Avhich they may be nec¬ 
essarily put to, not exceeding l^d dollar per da\^ for such additional 
allowance. 

That there be paid to the assistant commissaries of issues each 60 
dollars a month. 

Jnly 7, 1777. 

Resolved, That William Buchanan, esq., deputy commissary-general 
of purchases for the Middle Department, be directed to appoint a 
proper person to supply the regiment commanded b^- Colonel Rich¬ 
ardson with provisions during its continuance in Maryland and the 
State of Delaware. 

That in case Mr. Buchanan should decline acting as deputy commis¬ 
sary for the department, the governor and council of Maryland be 
authorized and requested to make the appointment of a deputy com- 
missaiy for the suppl}dng Colonel Richardson’s battalion with pro¬ 
visions during their stay in Maryland or in the State of Delaware. 

Resolved, . . . That the clothier-general be directed to appoint 

an agent in the said State [Georgia] for the purpose of supplydng the 
troops there with clothes; . . . 

That a deputy commissary-general of ])urchases and a deputy com¬ 
missary-general of issues of provisions be appointed in the said State. 

Jxdy m, 1777. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be empowered to contract with 
bakers to bake into biscuits, for the use of the Arny^, the Hour which 
they were ordered to sell; 

That the commissary-general of purchases be directed to have the' 
Hour stored at Yorktown, Ijancaster, Downingtown, and Valley Forge, 
in Pennsylvania, and which is in danger of perishing, baked into bis¬ 
cuit foFthe use of the Army. 

July 23, 1777 .—The superiiiteiident of bakers being unable to engage a number of 
journeyman bakers, most of them being in tlie militia, Congress referred liiiii to the 
sn})reme executive council of Pennsylvania, recommending to the latter to make 
details for this ])iirpose. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


265 


July m, 1777. 

Hesolved^ That the Board of War be empowered to contract with 
proper persons to supply the Army with beer, cyder, vegetables, soap, 
vinegar, and sour crout. ... 

Resoh^ed., That General Washington be empowered to increase the 
ration of soap according to his discretion. 

Jnhj 29, 1777. —Mr. Phillips declined appointinent of commissioner of hides. 

August 2, 1777. —Commissary-General J. Trumbnll asked leave to resign on 
August 20. 

August S, 1777. 

Resolved., That a commissary of hides be appointed in the room of 
Peter Philips, esq., who declines acting. The ballots being taken, 

George Ewing was elected. 

* * * 

Congress proceeded to the election of officers in the Commissary’s 
Department; and, the ballots being taken, 

W illiam Buchanan, esq., was elected commissary-general of pur¬ 
chases. 

A ugust 6', 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the appointment of a deputy commissary of 
purchases, a deputy commissarv-general of issues: . . . Where¬ 

upon, 

Resolved^ That James Koe, esq., be [deputy] commissary-general 
of purchases; John Boh tin Garardeau, deputy commissary-general of 
issues. . . . 

* * * 

Congress proceeded to the election of officers in the Commissary’s 
Department; and, the ballots being taken, 

Ephraim Blaine, esq., was elected deput}^ commissary-general of 
purchases, in the room of Mr. Buchanan; 

Archibald Stewart, esq., deputy commissary-general of issues, in the 
room of Mr. Hoops, who has resigned; 

James Blicker, esq., deputy commissary-general of issues, in the 
room of Mr. Avery, resigned. 

Resolved., That in case Mr. Blicker decline the office, the command¬ 
ing officer in the Northern Department be authorized to appoint another 
person in his stead, and inform Congress thereof. 

Resolved^ That another deputy commissary-general of issues be 
appointed for the Eastern Department; and, the ballots being taken, 

Samuel Gray, esq., was elected. 

* * * 

Whereas Joseph Trumbull, esq., having resigned his commission of 
commissary-general of purchases under the new regulations, has signi¬ 
fied his intention of discontinuing his service under the former estab¬ 
lishment on the 20th day of the present month; and whereas the 
commissaries-general of purchases and issues who are to succeed him 
in office may not be prepared with their respective assistants to pro¬ 
ceed in the business at the time aforesaid, and a failure of supplies may 
be attended with the most dangerous consequences: 

Resolved^ That Mr. Trumbull, with the officers under him, be desired 
to continue in the business of supplying the Army under the former 


266 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

establishment until the commissaries-general of purchases and issues 
shall signify their readiness to proceed therein under the new regula¬ 
tions, which they are required to do as speedily as possible. 

AuguM 7, 1777. 

Besolved, That the pay of the deputy commissaries-genei’al of issues 
be increased to 100 dollars per month, and the pay of the clerks to the 
commissaries-general to 50 dollars a month. 

Augmt 9. 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary-general 
of purchases, in the room of Jeremiah Wadsworth, esq., resigned; and, 
the ballots being taken, 

Peter Colt, esq., was elected. 

August 11^ 1777. —Mr. Archibald Stewart resigned the office of deputy commissary- 
general of issues. 


Augmt U, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary-general 
of issues; and, the ballots being taken, 

Robert White, esq., was elected. 

Augmt 28, 1777. 

Besolved, That the clothier-general be directed forthwith to inform 
himself, as nearly as may be, of the number of blankets, shoes, hose, 
and shirts that will be wanted for the troops of the United States in 
the fall and winter next ensuing, exclusive of those now in store or 
for which he has contracted; that he apply for the same to the seveml 
assemblies or executive authorities of the States of New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Penn¬ 
sylvania, and Delaware, in proportion to the number of inhabitants of 
each State, and send to each an attested copy of this resolve; and it is 
earnestl}" recommended to the several States aforesaid to call on the 
inhabitants of their respective counties, cities, towns, or districts to 
manufacture or furnish their proportions of the said articles; and the 
said States are desired to appoint suitable persons to inspect the qualit}^ 
of the articles thus supplied, and to order them to be delivered to the 
clothier’s agent in each State, who is hereby directed to pay for the 
same on the delivery thereof. 

That the clothier-general be directed forthwith to apply to the Com- 
mandei; in Chief and commander of each Continental district and 
inform himself of the number of assistant clothiers necessary for the 
Army and detached parts within their several commands;" that he 
appoint, without delay, as many assistants as they may respective!}" 
judge necessary, and report their names to Congress; that he take 
effectual care to send to each assistant a proportion of the clothing on 
hand and full supplies as soon as may be, ordering the said assistants 
to give receipts for the same; that he be careful to direct the several 
assistants to give each noncommissioned officer and soldier the cloth¬ 
ing due to him by the articles of enlistment and take receipts, and 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


267 


that they supply the Army with such other clothing as shall be neces¬ 
sary at the average cost and charges thereof; that he furnish' each 
assistant with the names of the noncommissioned officers and soldiers 
of the divisions or corps to which he may be assigned who have 
received the bounty of clothing, or any part thereof, and also with the 
account of each officer and soldier in such division or corps who is 
indebted to the United States for articles of clothing; that he direct 
each assistant on the first day of every month to render to the respec¬ 
tive regimental paymasters in the divisions or corps to which he is 
assigned particular accounts of all the clothing for which the officers 
and men are respectively indebted; and the several regimenhil pay¬ 
masters are hereby dire?ted to make the proper stoppages from the 
pay rolls for discharging the said accounts, and to deliver th.^ money 
to the assistant clothiers resj^ectively, taking their receipts and deliver¬ 
ing them to the paymaster or deputy paymaster-general, to be filed in 
his office until required b}’ the commissioners of accounts or other 
proper authority; that the several assistants deliver the money so 
received to the clothier-general and account with him for all the 
clothing which they may receive as aforesaid. 

August 29, 1777. 

Resolved, That each assistant clothier be allowed 50 dollars a month 
and the rations of a captain. 

August 30, 1777. 

Resolved, That the several issuing commissaries be directed to fur¬ 
nish the director-general, or any of the deputy directora, or their 
assistants, with such provisions as any of them shall from time to time 
demand by an order in writing for the use of any temporary hospital 
which shall be established, which order, with the receipt of the steward 
endorsed thereon, shall be a sufficient voucher for such issuino- com¬ 
missary, who is also required to keep such vouchers separate and make 
a separate entiy of the same in his books, charging the director who 
ordered the same therewith. 

August SO, 1777 .—“ Information being given by the Commissary-General that it is 
at present impracticable to supply the Army daily with hard brea^i, the troops are 
to receive soft bread or flour as the commissaries shall be able to supply them.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Wdmington.) 

September 6, 1777. 

The Committee on the Treasury further report, . . . and there¬ 

fore it is the opinion of the committee that it be. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general be directed, as far as he shall have 
it in his power, to furnish all the noncommissioned officers and privates 
in the service of the United States who have not yet received their 
bounty of clothing, at their election, either with the sej^eral articles 
allowed by Congress in the resolution of 8th October, 1776, or in lieu 
thereof, the following articles, viz: 

One regimental coat, at 8 60-90ths dollars; one jacket without 
sleeves, 2 60-90ths dollars; one pair buckskin and two pair linen or 


2()8 LEGISLATIVE HISTOBV OF GENERAL STAFF OF TJ. S. ARMY. 


woolen breeches, 8 dollars; one hat or leather cap, 2 60-90ths dollars; 
two shirts, 8 dollars; one hunting shirt, 4 dollars; two pair overalls, 
6 dollars; two pair of stockings, 4 dollars; two pair of shoes, 6 dollars; 
one blanket, 6 dollars; making in all, 56 dollars. 

But, as the cost of the articles last specified exceeds that of the cloth¬ 
ing allowed as a bounty to the troops by 8 30-90ths dollars, so much 
shall be stopped out of the pay of every noncommissioned officer and 
private who shall be supplied in the manner last directed as will make 
the amount of clothing he shall receive equal to the value of the bounty 
of clothing, which, upon an average of the price of the several articles, 
is estimated at 47 60-90ths dollars. 

The said report and resolves being read twice, on the question put, 

ResoVced^ That Congress agree to the same. 

September 7^, 1777. 

Bewlved., That the commissary-general of purchases be directed to 
purchase on the most reasonable terms he can 30 hogsheads of rum, 
and that the same be presented to the Army and distidbuted among 
the soldiers in such manner as the General shall direct, in compliment to 
the soldiers for their gallant behavior in the late battle of Brandywine. 

September 1777. 

Resolved, That the President write to the governor and council of 
New Jersey and request them to call on the inhabitants of the above- 
mentioned places (in the western division of New Jersey) for as many 
blankets as can be spared to supply the soldiers of General Washing¬ 
ton’s army, many of whom have lost their blankets in the late battle 
of Brandywine, and can not be supplied by the State of Pennsylvania; 
and that the cost of the said blankets be defrayed by the United States. 

September 15, 1777 .—Robert White, deputy commissary-general of issues, resigned. 

September 16, 1777 .—The Commissary-General of Issues and the Clothier-General 
were ordered to remove to Bethlehem, Pa., or some other place of safety the stores 
belonging to their respective departments ordered to, or deposited in, Trenton, N. J. 

September 17, 1777. 

Resolved, That General Washington be authorized and directed 
. . . to take, wheresoever he may be, all such provisions and other 

articles as may be necessary for the comfortable subsistence of the 
army under his command, paying or giving certificates for the same; 
. . . provided that the powers hereby vested shall be exercised 

only in such parts of those States as may be within the circumference 
of 70 miles of the headquarters of the American Army, and shall con¬ 
tinue in force for the space of 60 days, unless sooner revoked by 
Congress. 

September 27, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to cooperate with Gen¬ 
eral Washington in devising and carrying into execution efiectual 
measures for supplying the Army with . . . shoes, blankets, 

stockings, provisions, and other necessaries; and that in executing 
this business these collections be confined, as much as circumstances 
will admit, to persons of dissatisfied and equivocal characters. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


269 


October 2, 1777. 

Resolved^ That the commissary-general of provisions . . . and 

their deputies, respectively, he directed to provide and supply, in the 
places where Congress may meet, such articles of their respective 
departments as may be required by the several members thereof for 
the use of themselves, their servants, and horses, the said members 
paying the cost of the said articles; and that this resolution extend to 
the secretaries, treasurer, and the officers of the several boards and 
committees of Congress. 


October 1777. 

Resolved., That if the deputy commissary-general of purchases, or of 
issues, appointed for the eastern district, shall decline to accept of or 
officiate in their respective offices. Major Gen. Putnam, the command¬ 
ing officer at Peekskill, or the commanding officer there for the time 
being, be authorized and directed to appoint suitable persons to those 
respective offices, or either of them; and that Maj. Gen. Gates, or the 
commanding officer for the time being of the northern department, 
have similar power with respect to the deputy commissary-generaI of 
purchases and of issues for the northern department, and that they 
respectively certify the names of the commissaries which they may 
appoint to Congress for approbation. 

Resolved^ That every assistant appointed, or that hereafter may be 
appointed by the respective deputy commissaries-general of purchases 
and of issues shall enter into bond to the president of Congress, in the 
penalty of 5,000 dollars, for the faithful performance of his duty; and 
such bond, being taken by the deputy commissary-general and lodged 
with the paymaster-general or deputy paymaster-general of the dis¬ 
trict, to be by him transmitted to the Treasury board, the deputy 
commissary-general shall no longer be chargeable or accountable for 
the good behavior of such assistants. 

That every deputy commissary-general shall be authorized to appoint 
as many clerks, not exceeding the number of three, as the respective 
commissaries-general shall judge necessary, who are directed to report 
the same to Congress. 

And whereas it is represented that it will be exceedingly difficult to 
comply with the regulations of Congress for branding and numbering 
cattle on the horns. 

Resolved., That the purchasers of live stock be respectively directed 
to adopt such other mode for marking the same as they shall judge 
expedient, and to transmit to Congress by the earliest opportunity the 
regulations for that purpose by them adopted. 

That each of the deputy commissaries-general of purchases be author¬ 
ized to allow to the purchasers of live stock, in his respective district, 
a longer time for making the returns required by the 10th article of 
the regulations of the department of the commissaries than is therein 
specified; provided such deputy commissary-general shall judge it 
necessary and the time further allowed does not exceed one month. 
And if in the hurry of a march or engagement, or at any other time; 
any deputy appointed to receive, kill, and deliver live stock shall be 
unable to weigh the meat, hides, and tallow thereof he shall be indem¬ 
nified from any charge of neglect upon producing to the respective 
purchaser of cattle a certificate from the commanding officer of the 


270 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

army, post, or detachment of the fact aforesaid; and such certificate 
shall also excuse the purchaser of live stock from producing the receipt 
of the issuing commissary required by the 14:th article of the said 
regulations. 

That it was never the intention of Congress to make any purchaser 
of live stock or officer of the department liable for unavoidable loss 
of all or any part of such live stock, when such purchaser or officer 
shall make it appear that proper care hath been taken to prevent such 
loss. 

October 6, 1777. 

Resolved., That the commissaries-general of purchases and issues 
and their deputies and assistants have power and authority to impress 
and seize wagons, shallops, and proper storehouses, on extraordinary 
occasions, for the use of their departments; this authority to extend 
to the distance of 70 miles from headquarters, and to be in force to 
the 1st of January next, and no longer; . . . 

October 8, 1777 .—“The commanding officers of corps are immediately to select the 
most suitable of their men and set them to making mockasins for their corps. The 
commissaries are to order the skins of the heads and legs of bullocks to be taken off 
and applied to that use, so far as they will go. The commissaries also are to issue 
the raw hides for the purpose upon the returns of the officers commanding corps.”— 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Perkiomy.) 

October 11, 1777. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of issues, his deputies and 
assistants, and all persons employed under him or them, deliver over, 
on demand, to the commissary of hides, all hides, tallow, feet, and 
offal of all cattle killed for the use of the Army, taking a receipt for 
the same, any order or direction of any person or persons to the con¬ 
trary notwithstanding. 

That the said commissary of hides be supplied with money for car¬ 
rying on the business of his department, from time to time, upon his 
application to Congress, and that he shall settle his accounts once a 
year or oftener, if required, with the Treasury board. 

That he or his deputies at any principal department or post be 
authorized to hire or impress one or more wagons or carriages for the 
use of his department, as occasion may require, which shall not be 
subject to be impressed for any other service by any officer of the 
Army, unless by special direction of the Commander in Chief for the 
time being; and if any officer shall (except as before excepted), on any 
pretense whatsoever, impress, without his consent, any wagon, cart, 
or carriage in the service of the said commissary of hides, he shall 
immediately, on application to the commanding officer nearest the 
place where the transaction happens, be put under arrest, be liable to 
pay all loss the State sustain by such impressment, and suffer such 
other punishment as shall be deemed proper by a court-martial. 

That the Commander in Chief and the commanding officer of any 
department, post, or detachment be directed to supply the commissary- 
general of hides and his respective deputies with guards for their 
wagons when the said commissary shall apply for the same and they 
shall appear to be necessary. 

That the said commissary of hides shall make a return once in every 
three months to the Board of War of his whole transactions, specifying 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


271 


the number of workmen employed, the quantities of hides on hand, 
the quantities exchanged for leather and shoes, what quantity is made 
up into shoes, and what otherwise disposed of; and to enable him to do 
this his deputies and assistants, whose names, occupations, and pay or 
wages he is also to return, shall make monthly returns to the said 
commissary of hides. 

That the said commissary of hides shall receive and take care of the 
tallow and all other useful otfal of the cattle belonging to the United 
States, and see that the said tallow is properly rendered and made fit 
to be manufactured into candles and soap for the use of the Army, and 
shall deliver the said tallow, so rendered, to the commissary-general 
of purchases, or his order, taking receipts for the same, reserving so 
much of the said tallow as may be necessary for the manufacture of 
the leather and the use of his own department. 

That the commissary of hides have the appointment of all deputies 
and assistants to be employed under him, for whose conduct he shall 
be responsible, and have authority to displace them at pleasure. 

Octolet' 15, 1777. 

Resolved, That a deputy commissary-general of purchases and a 
deputy commissary-general of issues be appointed for supplying the 
forts and posts on the western frontier of Pennsylvania and Virginia, 
and that the limit of the district be assigned by the respective commis- 
saries-general. 

That assistant purchasing commissaries be not allowed in the district 
aforesaid. 

Oetolei^ 16, 1777. 

Ordered, That a copy of General Washington’s letter of the 13th and 
the returns relative to clothing wanted for the Army be sent by express 
to each of the States of Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and that they be respectively 
requested to send to the General, with all possible despatch, as many 
of the several articles mentioned in the returns as can be collected and 
are not immediately wanted for their respective regiments which have 
not joined the Army, and to order the officers in the clothier’s depart¬ 
ment in the States aforesaid to use their utmost exertions in forwarding 
the clothing in their possession. 

Octoher m, 1777. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of purchases be authorized 
and empowered to apply to the governor and council of safety of Con¬ 
necticut, or to the board of war to the Massachusetts Bay, or to 
empower the deputy commissary-general of purchases for the eastern 
district to import or contract with persons who shall import and supply 
on reasonable terms a sufficient quantity of salt for the Army of the 
United States in the middle district; that the masters of the vessels 
to be emploj^ed for this purpose be severally directed to deliver their 
cargoes of salt at such ports in the middle or southern districts as the 
commissary-general shall think most convenient, and that he order 
cargoes of flour or grain, on the arrival of those vessels at the ports 
aforesaid, to be provided and shipped in them for the Army in the 
eastern district. 


272 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEKAL-STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


And the said governor and council of safety and board of war are 
severally requested to assist the commissary in acconiplishing these 
purposes and to grant or procure permits for exporting cargoes to 
purchase the salt. 

And whereas there is an immediate demand for the article aforesaid 
in the middle district, 

Resolved^ That the supreme executive authorities of the States of 
Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut be respectively requested to assist 
the commissary-general of purchases in procuring wagons or teams for 
removing 12,000 bushels of salt from the eastern to the middle district; 
that the said commissary be directed to employ the wagons or teams 
procured in the Massachusetts Bay to remove the salt from thence to 
Connecticut, and those procured in the States last mentioned in remov¬ 
ing the salt from thence to such places on the North River as he shall 
judge most convenient; and the said commissary-general is directed to 
procure wagons or teams in the middle districts and load them with 
hour, to be delivered at the North River and sent by the teams bring¬ 
ing the salt from Connecticut to the magazines of the Army in that 
State; and that the wagons or teams from the middle district be 
employed to bring from North River the salt to be deposited there as 
aforesaid. 

Novemher S, 1777. 

Resolved., That a copy of the resolutions of Congress of the 4th of 
October last, relative to the department of the purchasing and issuing 
commissaries, be forthwith transmitted by express to the governor 
and council of safety of Connecticut, who are authorized and requested 
to appoint a deputy commissaiy-general of purchases and a deputy 
commissary general of issues for the eastern district, provided the 
appointments of Congress to the respective offices aforesaid are not 
accepted, and Gen. Putnam has not made such appointments, agree¬ 
able to the powers given him by the resolution last mentioned, or that 
the officers so appointed should appear to the said governor and coun¬ 
cil incompetent to the business. 

That a copy of the preceding resolution be transmitted b}^ the express 
aforesaid to Major Gen. Putnam, who is directed to inform his excel¬ 
lency Governor Trumbull of his conduct relative to the premises, and 
to direct the officers who may have accepted the appointments afore¬ 
said forthwith to apply to the governor and council of safety for 
instructions, and that Gen. Putnam cease to proceed further in the 
business aforesaid. 

November 10,1777 .—General Gates was authorized to order the Paymaster-General 
to pay dues to officers and men for rations allowed to them but not paid, provided 
the existing regulations of the Commissary’s Department on the subject be no longer 
dispensed with than he shall judge necessary. 

Novemhefv 11, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary-general 
of issues for supplying the forts and posts on the western frontiers of 
Pennsylvania and Virginia; and, the ballots being taken, John Erwing 
was elected. 

November 14, 1777. —“Mr. Kemper, the deputy clothier-general, is to attend the 
meeting and take the directions of the board ’^[commanders of brigades] for the 
present and future distributions.” {Orders, General Headquarters, White-Marsh.) 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


273 


November 15^ 1777. 

Resolved., That a copy of the letter from J. Bradford, dated Boston, 
October the 16th, 1777, to the secret committee, be transmitted to the 
clothier-general; . . . that the clothier-general, without dela}^ 

appoint a deputy in each State, if he hath not already made such 
appointments; that the cloth for soldiers’ clothing mentioned in the 
said letter to be imported into Bedford for account of Congress be 
delivered to the clothier-general or his order; . . . that the 

receipts taken on the delivery be forthwith transmitted to the com¬ 
mittee of commerce; that the clothier-general bedirected immediately 
to give orders to his deputy for the State of Rhode Island to receive 
the said cloth for soldiers’ clothing, and procure the making up 
the same into clothes there or elsewhere, as soon as may be, and to 
forward them with the utmost despatch to General Washington’s 
Army; that the clothier-general also write to the governor and coun¬ 
cil of the State of Rhode Island, requesting them, in case the person 
appointed by him as his deputy should decline acting, to appoint a 
suitable person for that purpose, and for forwarding the clothing as 
above directed; and the said governor and council are requested to 
make such appointment accordingly, and to give every necessary aid 
to the above important business. 

November' 19., 1777. 

Resolved., That the clothier-general be directed to deliver to the 
director-general of the militaiy hospitals, the deputy directors-general, 
or their assistants, for the use of the sick and wounded of the several 
departments, a proportionable share of the blankets, shirts, shoes, and 
stockings, which he shall, from time to time, procure for the supply 
of the Army. 

November W., 1777. 

Resolved, That [Colonel G. Morgan, restored to the appointment for 
Indian affairs] be appointed deputy commissary-general of purchases 
in the western district. 


November m, 1777. 

Resolved, That the resolution of Congress of the 15th of October 
last, directing that no assistant purchasing commissaries be appointed 
for the western district be not extended to the temporary appoint¬ 
ments of such officers, and that the Commissary-General of Purchases 
be directed to authorize the deputy commissary-general of purchases 
for the said district to make such appointments when he, the said 
Commissary-General, shall judge it necessary. 

* «• * 

5. Resolved, That . . . each of the respective legislatures [of 

the several States] enact suitable laws, . . . as to authorize the 

purchasing commissaries for the Army, ... to take from any 
engrossers, forestallers, or other person possessed of a larger quantity 
of any such commodities or provisions than shall be competent for the 
private annual consumption of their families, and who shall refuse to 

S. Doc. 229-18 


274 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


sell the surplus at the prices to be ascertained [by a convention of State 
commissioners], paying only such price for the same. 

* ■X- * 

Resolved^ That it be earnestly recommended to the respective legis¬ 
latures of the United States, without delay, by their separate authority, 
to adopt and elfectually enforce a temporaiy regulation of the prices 
of provisions and other commodities for the supph^ of the Army, in 
such manner as they shall judge reasonable; and to continue in force 
until the general regulations before proposed shall be adopted. 

November32,1777 .—“The Commsinder in Chief offers a reward of ten dollars to any 
person who shall, by nine o’clock on Monday morning, produce the best substitute 
for shoes, made of raw hides. The commissary of hides is to furnish the hides; and 
the major-general of the day is to judge of the essays, and assign the reward to the 
best artist.” {Orders, General Headquarters, White-Marsh.) 

November 1777. 

The committee appointed to prepare a plan for establishing a board 
to superintend the departments of the commissaries and Quartermaster- 
General, report: 

That as a Board of War, consisting of persons not members of Con¬ 
gress, has been lately established, and the late Quartermaster-General 
is a member thereof, the committee are of opinion that a considerable 
expense may be saved b}^ adding to the board a person acquainted with 
the commissarial business, and authorizing it to superintend each of the 
civil departments of the Army: Whereupon, 

Resolved^ That Congress concur with the committee. 

Novemler ^5, 1777. 

Resolved^ That Governor Caswell be desired to appoint proper per¬ 
sons within the State of North Carolina to purchase, with secrecy and 
despatch, all the merchantable leather and deerskins in that State proper 
for making shoes, breeches, . . . that he be desired to detain so 

much thereof as can be manufactured into shoes and breeches within 
the space of four months, sending on to the clothier-general, at Lan¬ 
caster, in Pennsylvania, the shoes and breeches which may be made 
from time to time, ... 


November m, 1777. 

Congress resumed the consideration of the report from the com¬ 
mittee on the letter from S. Hopkins, esq., etc., when the seventh 
article was agreed to as follows: 

7th. And whereas, notwithstanding the lai-ge quantities of clothing 
which have seasonably been ordered from Europe for the armies of 
the United States, such have been the obstructions, from a variety of 
causes, that an adequate supply has not been imported, and it is 
become necessary that immediate provisions should be made to defend 
the troops from the inclemency of the winter, and to prevent future 
disappointments of the like nature, and that, for this purpose, the sev¬ 
eral States should be called upon for assistance. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 


275 


Resol/ped^ thet'e/are^ That it be earnestly recominended to the several 
States from time to time to exert their utmost endeavors to procure, 
in addition to the allowances of clothing heretofore made by Congress, 
supplies^ of blankets, shoes, stockings, shirts, and other clothing*for 
the comfortable subsistence of the officers and soldiers of their respec¬ 
tive battalions; luid to appoint one or more persons to dispose of such 
articles to the said officers and soldiers in such proportion as the gen¬ 
eral officers from the respective States commanding in such army shall 
direct, and at such reasonable prices as shall be assessed by the clothier- 
general or his deputy, and be in just proportion to the wages of the 
officers and soldiers, charging the surplus of the cost to the United 
States; and all clothing hereafter to be supplied to the officers and sol¬ 
diers of the Continental Army out of the public stores of the United 
States, beyond the bounties already granted, shall be charged at like 
prices, the surplus to be defrayed by the United States; provided that 
effective measures be adopted by each State for preventing any com¬ 
petition between their purchasing agents and the clothier-general and 
nis agents, who are severally directed to observe the instructions of 
the respective States relative to the prices of clothing purchased within 
such State. 


JS^ovemher ^8, 1777, 

Resolved,, That a copy of the resolution of Congress of the 22d of 
October and 3d of November, relative to the Commissary-s Depart¬ 
ment, be transmitted to his excellency the governor and council of 
safety of the State of Connecticut, who are requested to order the salt 
to be sent from the eastern to the middle district, agreeable to the 
resolution first mentioned, to such parts of the North River and to the 
care of such officer or person there as they shall judge expedient, and 
inform Congress or the commissary-general of purchases thereof; 
and the governor and council aforesaid are further requested to take 
effectual measures for sending immediate supplies of cattle to the 
army in the middle district and to the prisoners quartered near Bos¬ 
ton; and to this purpose they are fully authorized to superintend the 
deputy commissaries-general of purchases and issues and their respec¬ 
tive deputies or assistants in the eastern and northern districts, and to 
remove and appoint others in the room of such as shall refuse or 
neglect to comply with their directions. 

* ^ * 

Resolved,^ That the commissary-general of issues be directed to pre¬ 
serve the flour barrels of the Army and send them by the return 
wagons to the mills from whence supplies of flour may be sent to the 
Army; that he save the pork and beef barrels and as much of the salt 
therein as can be collected, and that for this purpose he employ a 
suitable number of coopers, and inform Congress of his proceedings 
therein. 

December W, 1777, 

Resolved,^ That it be most earnestly recommended to the respective 
legislatures of the United States forthwith to enact laws appointing 
suitable persons to seize and take, for the use of the Continental Army 
of the said States, all woolen cloths, blankets, linens, shoes, stockings, 
hats, and other necessary articles of clothing suitable for the Army, 


276 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

which may be in the possession of aii}^ persons inliabitants of, or res¬ 
idents within, their respective States, for the purpose of sale and not 
for their own private use or famil}^ consumption, giving them certiti- 
cates or receipts for the same, expressing the quality and quantity of 
the goods; provided, that such laws do not extend to any goods, wares, 
or merchandise which are or shall be Ijcma fide imported into the 
respective States on account of any persons not citizens of these United 
States, so long as the same shall continue their property, and no 
longer; and that they inflict such penalties as may be deemed proper 
on such persons possessed of any of the above-enumm’ated goods, 
wares, or merchandise, or other articles of clothing suitable for the 
Army, who, to evade the good intentions of the said laws, shall falselv 
affirm or declare the same to be the property of persons not citizens 
of any of the said United States. 

2. That it be further recommended to make provision in the said 
laws to empower the commissary-general of purchases, or any of his 
deputies, or such other persons as the respective legislatures may deem 
expedient, to seize all stock and every kind of provision necessary for 
the Army, which may have been purchased up on engrossed by any 
person with a view of selling the same, giving to the person from whom 
such stock or provisions have been taken certificates as aforesaid. 

3. That the value of all such goods, wares, and merchandise as are 
above enumerated, or other articles of clothing, stock, or provisions 
necessary for the Army, which shall be so seized and taken, be ascer¬ 
tained at the rate at which the said articles shall be stated by the con¬ 
vention of the committees of the several States to be held agreeably to 
the recommendation of Congress on the 22d of November last; the 
articles of clothing to be paid for by draughts made by the respective 
States upon the clothier-general, and the stock of provisions by the 
purchasing commissaries receiving them. 

4. And it is further recommended to the respective States to cause 
to be made up so much of the clothing aforesaid as they can complete 
within a reasonable time, and to send the whole of the clothing so 
taken or seized, as well that part which may be made up, as that which 
remains unmade (except so much as may be necessaiy for clothing 
the recruits enlisted in the States for their respective battalions in the 
Continental service), to the clothier-general to be distributed in the 
first instance to the supply of the troops belonging to the State fur¬ 
nishing such clothing, and the residue in such manner as the commis¬ 
sioners of the War Office or the clothier-general shall from time to 
time direct; provided, that this resolution shall not repeal or affect 
any part of the seventh proposition recommended to the legislatures 
of the respective States the 22d [26th] of November last, relative to 
the additional clothing to be furnished to their respective battalions; 
and it is further resolved, that the clothier-general transmit, from 
time to time, to the respective States, an account of the clothing fur¬ 
nished to their battalions out of the stock by them collected and sent 
forward, in order that each State may be satisfactorily informed that 
their troops receive immediate advantage from its exertions in the 
common cause. 

5. And whereas great waste of clothing has arisen from the want of 
fidelity or skill in the persons employed to make up the same: 

Resolved^ That it be recommended to the respective States to appoint 
one or more suitable persons to superintend and direct the tradesmen 
employed to make up the clothes to be collected as aforesaid, who shall 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


277 


conform themselves to the instructions of the Board of War relative to 
the form thereof, provided that no delays be suffered to take place 
from the want of such instructions. 

6. And whereas the comfortable support of the army of these 
States may hereafter greatly depend on the supplies which they may 
be able to draw from their own internal resources, it is therefore 
most earnestly recommended to the said States to employ a sufficient 
number of manufacturers and tradesmen to supply the clothing wanted 
for their respective battalions, exempting them, under proper regula¬ 
tions, from military duty; and authorizing suitable persons to collect 
and supply, at the stipulated prices, cotton, wool, ffax, leather, and 
other articles for carrying on the said manufactures. 

7. And . . . it is most seriously recommended to the several 

legislatures aforesaid forthwith to enact laws ... to prohibit 
aii}^ persons whatsoever, not citizens of their respective States, from 
purchasing within the same any article of clothing or provision neces- 
saiT for the use of the army (uidess so much as may be requisite 
for their own private or famil^^’s use or consumption), excepting only 
such person or persons as shall produce a certificate, under the seal 
and sign manual of the supreme executive authority of the respective 
States. ... 

Decmiher 30, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That after the 1st day of January next the 

commissary-general of purchases be directed from time to time to 
compute the cost of each part of a ration, agreeably to the prime cost 
of the articles composing the same: and that he send a certificate 
thereof to the Board of Treasury, and also to the commissary-general 
of issues, who is thereupon directed to publish the same to the issuing 
commissaries, to be by them observed, in lieu of the estimate made in 
the 38th article of the commissary’s regulations, passed by Congress 
the 10th of June last. 

December 31, 1777. 

Whereas Samuel A. Otis, deputy clothier-general in the State of 
Massachusetts Bay, hath signified to Congress that he hath contracted 
with sundry persons in the said State for a large quantity of clothing 
for the use of the Continental troops at the most extravagant rate of 
10 to 1,800 per cent, and that some of the holders of the said goods 
have even refused to deliver him the same until they shall receive the 
cash, ... 

Resolved, Therefore, that Mr. Otis be directed to pay only for such 
of the said clothing as he may have actually received at the rate for 
which he may have contracted for such clothing. 

Resolved, That it be most earnestly recommended to the legislative 
authority of the State of Massachusetts Bay immediately to take and 
seize the residue of the clothing which the holders thereof have refused 
to deliver to the said Samuel A. Otis, agreeably to the resolutions of 
Congress of the 20th instant, which clothing shall be paid for in manner 
and at the rate mentioned therein, and not otherwise. 

January 6, 1778. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general be directed to deliver to the order 
of the director-general as much linen and as many blankets as can be 
spared, to be retained in the hospital for the use of the sick. 


278 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


That the clothier-Reneral be directed to supply the convalescents with 
necessary clothing, in order that, when properly recovered, they may 
join the Army. 

January 13^ 1778. 

Besolmd., That ... a deputy cornmissaiy-general of issues be 
appointed to act^/w tempore for the troops aforesaid [from New Hamp¬ 
shire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, constantly 
employed in Rhode Island for the defense of the State and of the Provi¬ 
dence Plantations]; that the deput}" commissary-general of issues be 
appointed by the council of war of the State of Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations; . . . and that each . . . take the 

oath of hdelity and office. . . . 


January 1778. 

EesolveJ That the order of the commissary of prisoners shall be a 
sufficient voucher to the commissary or deputy commissaiy-general of 
purchases for the delivery of provisions for the use of the prisoners 
of war. 

Resolved.^ That by the resolution of the 22d of October, 1777, the 
commissary-general of purchases is invested with powers adequate to. 
and sufficient for, the purpose of importing salt for the use of the Army. 

Resolved^ That the powers and directions contained in the resolution 
aforesaid for procuring salt be extended to the article of rum for the 
Armv. 

-X- -x- * 

Resolved.^ That the Board of War of the State of Massachusetts Ba}^ 
be I'equested to import from the middle and southern department 
15,000 barrels of flour to supply the magazines of the eastern district 
for the next campaign, over and above what may be imported by the 
deputy commissary-general of purchases for that purpose, and deliver 
the same to the commissary-general of issues or his deputies, these to 
be deposited agreeably to the orders of the commanding officer in that 
district, and that compensation be made to the board for their trouble 
herein. 

That the said board be empowered to purchase, charter, or hire on 
freight, as they may judge most for the interest of these States, vessels 
for this purpose, . . . for so much of the flour as they may order 

to be shipped from Virginia; that if the whole quantity of flour can 
not be readily obtained, the l)oard be empowered to make up the deti- 
ciency by importing rice from South Carolina. 

* * -X- 

Resolved^ That a deputy commissary-general of purchases be appointed 
for the middle district, in addition to E. Blaine, and that the cominis- 
sary-general of purchases, after consulting with Mr. Blaine, be directed 
to assign the part of the district in which the deputy commissary- 
general shall act. 

January id, 1778. 

Remlved., That one or more persons be immediately employed by the 
Board of War, on the best terms in their power, to purchase 30,000 
barrels of flour, or wheat equivalent, and have it ground into flour, and 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 


279 


to deposit 12,000 barrels, part thereof, at or near Lancaster, 8,000 
barrels at or near Heading, 0,000 barrels at or near Bethlehem, 2,000 
barrels at Downingtown, and 2,000 barrels at Pottsgrove. 

* * * 

That these magazines, being established without the interference of 
the Commissary-General or his officers, shall when necessary be ordered 
under the direction of the issuing commissary-general by the Board 
of War. 

* -X- * 

That the Board of War enquire of His Excellency Thomas Wharton, 
esq., president of the council of the State of Pennsylvania, what meas¬ 
ures have been taken by the legislature of that State for laying up 
magazines for the Army; and if it should appear to the board, after 
siicTi inquiry, that measures for that purpose have been taken adequate 
to the present critical situation of the Army with respect to supplies, 
they be authorized and directed to suspend the execution of the whole 
or such parts of the foregoing resolutions as they shall deem most 
conducive to the general weal. 

Jamicmj 19^ 1778. 

Resolved., That copies of the proposals of W. Buchanan, commissary- 
general of purchases, for establishing a communication to ti'ansfer pro¬ 
visions from South Quay, on Albemarle Sound, in the State of North 
Carolina, to Elkridge Landing, at the head of Patapsco, in the State of 
Maryland [be transmitted to the governors of North Carolina, Virginia, 
and Maryland, respectively], and that it be earnestly recommended to 
them forthwith to establish a sufficient number of wagons and boats, 
under the direction of active and careful persons, for transporting 
weekly 500 barrels of meal across the communication in their respective 
States, as specified in Mr. Buchanan’s proposals, or on such other as 
they shall deem more eligible, and to open proper roads, if necessary, 
for such purpose. 

Fehmiary 3, 1778. 

* * * 

And whereas many persons employed as deputy or assistant com¬ 
missaries . . . are dispersed in various parts of the continent, 

over whom neither Congress nor the head of their respective depart¬ 
ments can have the immediate inspection: 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the legislative and executive 
authority of every State to take effectual measures for preventing any 
person within their States from exercising any office in the civil depart¬ 
ment of the Army, or in any other civil department under Congress, 
who shall not, when thereunto required by any magistrate, produce a 
legal appointment to such office and a certificate of his having taken 
the foregoing oaths or affirmations, or who shall neglect or refuse to 
take and subscribe the said oaths or affirmations within the time above 
limited. 

February 13, 1778. 

Whereas there is great danger of the armies of the United States 
being very much distressed if the exportation of beef and pork from 
the State of North Carolina be not immediately prohibited: Therefore, 


280 LEGISLATIVE HISTORV OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Be8oh)ed^ That the legislative and executive powers of the State of 
North Carolina be earnestly requested immediately to lay an embargo 
on all beef and pork, except so much as may be necessary for the ves¬ 
sel’s use for the voyage, and to take the most effectual measures to 
prevent the embargo from being evaded. 

February 1778. 

Whereas . . . the general assembly of Pennsylvania have, by a 

law, appointed commissioners in each county within their State to pur¬ 
chase or seize wheat. Hour, and other provisions, etc., for the supply of 
the Army, pursuant to such orders as they shall receive from Congress: 

Resolved.^ . . . That the said commissioners deliver the live 

stock by them purchased to the order of the deputy commissary- 
general of purchases or his assistants, ... to whom severally 
they are directed to send immediate notice when such purchases are 
made. . . . 

* * * 

And whereas the Board of War have judged it expedient and neces¬ 
sary that a greater quantity of ffour and other provisions than was 
directed by the resolution of Congress of the 15th of January should 
be purchased and other magazines formed besides these above men¬ 
tioned, and have, agreeably to the powers vested in them by the said 
resolution of -the 15th of January, employed superintendents for the 
purchase of flour, etc.: 

Resolved., That the Board of War proceed in that business, and that 
they direct their superintendents to purchase such farther quantities 
of flour and provisions and have them conveyed to and secured in 
such places as the board shall direct; and that they instruct such of 
their superintendents as may purchase in Pennsylvania to avoid clash¬ 
ing with the commissioners appointed by the law of that State in the 
execution of their duty. 

That the said board be empowered to appoint a suitable person at 
each of the new magazines which they shall establish, with such a 
salary as they shall judge reasonable, to inspect, receive, store, and 
take care of the provisions purchased and conveyed thither by the said 
superintendents, and to issue the same upon the orders of the Board 
of War. 

That the superintendents appointed by the Board of War be allowed 
a commission, not exceeding 2^ per cent, on all purchases by them 
made, in full for their trouble and expenses therein, and that in pur¬ 
chasing they do not exceed the prices established by the laws of the 
States in which the purchases are made. 

Fehruary 18, 1778. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the governor and council of 
the State of Maryland ... be requested immediately to appoint 
a commissary to purchase and suppl}^ the said militia [to be embodied 
for guarding the prisoners at Fort Frederick] with provisions during 
their service at that post. 


February 21, 1778. 

Resolved, That the Board of War immediately employ a suitable 
number of proper persons on the east side of Susquehanna to pur¬ 
chase meat . . . for the Army. . . . 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


281 


February ^7, 1778. 

Resolved., That a company of bakers be raised to bake bread for the 
Arm\^, the company to consist of— 

One director, at feo a month and 3 rations a day. 

Ihree subdirectors, at $10 a month and 2 rations a da}'. 

Twelve foremen, at $30 a month and 1 ration a day. 

Sixty bakers, at $21 a month and 1 ration a day. 

That the company be enlisted for one year from the day of their 
enlistment and be subject to the rules and articles of war. 

That each ^foreman and baker have the same clothing as is allowed 
to noncommissioned officers in the Continental service. 

That the Board of War be directed to appoint the director and sub- 
directors and cause the company to be raised and set to work with 
the utmost despatch. 

March 1778. 

Ordeared^ That the clothier-general send an assistant clothier to be 
stationed with the Continental Army on Hudson’s River, to superin¬ 
tend the procuring and distribution of clothing. . . . 

That the issuing commissary of the army stationed on or in the 
vicinity of Hudson’s River, for the defence thereof, have authority, 
with the concurrence of the commanding officer, to draw for supplies 
of provisions on the purchasing commissaries in the eastern or northern 
districts, as exigencies and the position of the troops may from time 
to time require, taking special care not to interfere with any supplies 
coming forward to or intended for the grand army. 

3rarch IS. 1778. 

Resolved., That a commissar 3 '-general of purchases be appointed, 
with full powers to depute or remove any officer of his department. 

That each assistant purchasing commissary shall receive the follow¬ 
ing allowances for purchasing provisions and other articles, viz: 

Flour or meal, per cwt., 6-90ths of a dollar; hard bread, per cwt., 
8-90ths of a dollar; fresh pork, per cwt., 18-90ths of a dollar; salt pork 
in barrels, per cwt., 24:-90ths of a dollar; fresh beef, hide, and tallow, 
per cwt., 24-90ths of a dollar; salt beef in barrels, per cwt., 24-90ths 
of a dollar; salt, per bushel, 6-90ths of a dollar; molasses, per gallon, 
3-90ths of a dollar; West India rum, per gallon, 3-90ths ob a dollar; 
American rum or whiskey, per gallon, 3-90ths of a dollar; rice, per 
cwt., 6-90ths of a dollar; meat barrels, for packing beef, pork, or fish, 
each, 4-90ths of a dollar; bread casks with lining hoops, each, 3-90ths 
of a dollar; vinegar, per barrel, 8-90ths of a dollar; turnips and pota¬ 
toes, per bushel, 4-9()ths of a dollar; beans and peas, per bushel, G-90ths 
of a dollar; pickled shad, per barrel, 12-90ths of a dollar; onions, per 
bushel, 5-90ths of a dollar. 

That each assistant purchasing commissary shall be allowed ten per 
cent on the sum which he shall save by purchasing good provisions at 
less prices than such as are fixed in the respective States. 

That it shall be the duty of each deputy commissary-general of pur¬ 
chases to superintend the assistant purchasers under him, see that t|ie 
business of his department is properly conducted, and that full supplies 
of provisions are seasonably procured in his district, and that he shall 


282 LEGISLATIVE HISTORV OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


be entitled to an allowance equal to l-5th part of the whole allowance 
made to his assistants as aforesaid. 

* * * 

Eesolved^ That it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of pur¬ 
chases to superintend all the officers of his department, to give the 
necessary orders to the deputy commissaries-general, and see that the 
business in each department is properl}^ executed, and that full sup¬ 
plies of provisions for the Army are seasonably procured, and that he 
shall be entitled to an allowance equal to one-third part of the whole 
allowance made to his deputy commissaries-general as aforesaid. 

That the allowance herein provided for the commissary and deputy 
commissaries-general and assistant commissaries shall be in lieu of all 
other rewards for their respective services and expenses, including the 
pay of their clerks in purchasing provisions. 

That the Commissaiy-General be directed to visit the armies and 
posts, and that he be subject to the orders of the Commander in Chief, 
and that he be excused from residing at the place where Congress sits, 
he keeping a clerk and office there, to which all returns shall be made, 
and which shall be under the inspection and direction of the Board of 
War. 

That the Commissary-General, deputy commissaries-general, and 
assistant commissaries of purchases govern themselves in all other 
respects by the regulations for the commissary’s system passed in 
Congress the 10th day of June last, and the subsequent resolutions of 
the 1th day of October last, except such parts thereof as are altered 
by these regulations. 

March U, 1778. 

Eesolved, That eTohn Moore, esq., of the countv of Albemarle, in 
Virginia, be appointed to act as an assistant commissary of purchases 
under William Aylett, esq., deputy commissary-general, for procuring 
live cattle and pork for the use of the Army under General Washing¬ 
ton, so long as the said deputy commissary-general may hnd his serv¬ 
ices necessary. . . . 

March W, 1778. 

Ordered., . . . That a member be added to the said committee 

[on the commissary’s department] in the room of Mr. Harvie, who is 
absent; the member chosen, Mr. F. L. Lee. 

April 9, 1778. 

The committee appointed to confer with Mr. Wadsworth, and to 
whom their former report was recommitted, brought in another report: 
whereupon. 

The following questions were moved: 

1. Whether Mr. Wadsworth, for discharging the duties of commis¬ 
sary-general of purchases, shall be allowed half per cent on all the 
monej^s which shall be by him received and expended for the use of 
his department? 

2. Whether the deputy commissaries to be appointed by Mr. Wads¬ 
worth shall be allowed half per cent on all moneys by "them respec¬ 
tively received and paid to the purchasing commissaries under them in 
their respective districts? 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


283 


3. Whether the purchasing’ commissaries shall be allowed two per 
cent for the moneys which shall be by them respectively received and 
expended in the purchase of provisions for the Army, pursuant to the 
orders of Mr. Wadsworth or his deputies? 

And the yeas and nays being taken on these questions severally: 

* * * 

So they were resolved in the affirmative. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary-general of pur¬ 
chases, and, the ballots being taken, 

Jeremiah Wadsworth, es([., was unanimously elected. 

April 9, 1778. —Mr. Wadsworth resigned about August 6, 1777; March 80, 1778, 
Messrs. Cierry, Clark, Lee, and Dyer were a})poiuted a coininittee to (‘outer with him 
and inquire wliether he will undertake the otiice of eoniniissary-general of jairchases, 
and, April 2, 1778, Messrs. Drayton, Scudder, and Banister were added to the above 
committee. 

April 10, 1778. —^Messrs. Dana, Scudder, and Chase were constituted a committee 
to confer with W. Buchanan, respecting his continuance in ottice, until Colonel Wads¬ 
worth is ready to enter in the business. 

April ij, 1778. 

Resolved^ That the commissary-general of purchases have full power 
to appoint and remove every officer in his department. 

That the Commissary-General shall, from time to time, as the ser¬ 
vice may require, visit the armies and posts of the United States, and 
be subject to the orders of the Commander in Chief. 

That the Commissaiy-General shall not be obliged to reside at the 
place where Congress sits, l)ut he shall there keep an office, to which 
all general returns in his department shall be made, and which shall be 
under the inspection and direction of the Board of War; every officer 
necessaiy to that office being daily allowed one ration of provisions, 
office rent, firewood, candles, paper, wax, wafers, and (piills being 
furnished at the expense of the United States. 

That the Commissary-General, or his clerk at the office of general 
returns, shall recei\’e from the Treasury, by warrant in the usual man¬ 
ner, all sums of money necessary for the service of his department, 
and shall be entitled to receive one-half per cent on all sums by him 
paid to the deputy commissaries-general for the public service, who, 
in their respective districts, shall furnish the necessary sums of mone}^ 
to the purchasing commissaries in such districts. Each deputy com¬ 
missary-general shall be entitled to receive one-half per cent upon all 
sums of money by him paid to the purchasing commissaries in his dis¬ 
trict, and also three rations of provisions when in camp. Each pur¬ 
chasing commissary shall be entitled to receive a commission not exceed- 
ing two per cent, upon all sums of money by him laid out in the dis¬ 
charge of his office; and the Commissary-General and his deputies 
shall be allowed forage for their horses when at any post where there 
is forage for the service of the United States, and shall have their 
horses shod at any shop belonging to the United States. 

That money for the use of the Commissaiy-GeneraPs Department 
shall be transmitted from the Commissary-General’s office to the respec¬ 
tive deputy commissaries-general, and expresses sent on the necessary 
business of that department at the expense of the United States. 

That it be recommended to the government of the several States to 
exempt from militia duties all persons who are, bona tide, engaged in 
the Commissary-General’s Department. 


284 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


That the Commissary-General shall appoint an assistant to reside at 
headquarters under the orders of the Commander in Chief. The assist¬ 
ant shall be entitled to receive a dail}^ pay of five dollars, an allowance 
of rations, two for himself and one for his servant, forage for two 
horses, which shall be shod at the expense of the United States. 

That the Commissary-General, the deputy commissaries-general, and 
the purchasing commissaries, respectively, shall provide teams and 
drivers for transporting provisions at the expense of the United States 
when teams and drivers for such servfice can not, in due time, be 
obtained from the Quartermaster-General’s Department. 

That the Commissary-General shall assign to the several purchasing 
commissaries their respective districts for the sphere of their purchases, 
out of which they shall not make any purchases for the United States, 
nor into which they shall not give any encouragement for the bringing 
any commodities from any other purchasing commissary’s district, 
unless thereto expressly authorized by the Commissary-General or 
deputy commissary-general of the district. 

That each purchasing commissary upon his entrance into office shall 
take an oath before some magistrate ‘‘that he will not directly nor 
indirectly take any measure, nor cause or countenance any to be taken, 
to raise the price of any articles within the view of the Commissary- 
General’s Department; that he will use his best skill and judgment in 
purchasing on the most reasonable terms on account of the United 
States, and that he will give to the Commissary-General from time to 
time the earliest information of such frauds and abuses in his depart¬ 
ment as shall come to his knowdedge,” and the affidavit so taken shall 
be returned to the purchasing commissary-general and by him lodged 
in the War Office. ^ 

That all persons in the Commissary-General’s Department shall take 
bills of parcels for all the articles by them respectively purchased, 
receipts for all the moneys by them respective!}^ paid, and receipts for 
all articles delivered, to be produced as necessary vouchers at their 
several settlements. 

That the purchasing commissaries shall make monthly returns to the 
deputy commissaries-general of their respective districts of their pur¬ 
chases and the prices paid, and shall settle their accounts once in six 
months. 

That the deputy commissaries-general shall once in every two months 
make their returns to the Commissary-General’s Office of general 
returns and shall settle their accounts at that office whenever required 
to do so by the Commissary-General. 

That every three months the Commissary-General shall render to 
Congress an account of his receipts and expenditures, and every nine 
months a statement of the general returns of his department, and such 
account and statement shall be returned at such other times as Con¬ 
gress shall require. 

April 16, 1778. 

Resolved, That nothing contained in the system for the Commissary- 
General’s Department shall be construed to make the Commissary- 
General liable for the misapplication of money for the use of his 
department by any inferior officer in that department, provided that he 
shall take bonds from the deputy commissaries-general and assistant 
commissary-general, respectively, appointed by him, with not less than 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


285 


two good and sufficient securities, in the sum of 20,000 dollars, to be 
by him lodged in the Treasury office; and the said deputy commissaries 
shall be exonerated of all sums of money by them respectively paid to 
the purchasing commissaries, provided they shall take bonds from the 
said purchasing commissaries, respectively, with not less than two 
good and sufficient securities, in the sum of 10,000 dollars, which 
bonds they shall lodge in the said Treasury office. 

April 16,.1778 .—General Washington fixed the ration at pounds of flour or 
bread, 1 pound of beef or fish or three-fourths pound of pork, and 1 gill of whisky 
or spirits; or IJ pounds of flour or bread, one-half pound of pork or bacon, one-half 
pint of pease or beans, and 1 gill of whisky or spirits. ( Orders, General Headquarters.) 

April 1778. 

Congress having received repeated information that various abuses 
prevail in the department of the commissary of hides: for securing 
the hides and tallow belonging to the public. 

Resolved^ That the Board of War be directed to make such regula¬ 
tions for conducting that department as they shall deem best calculated 
to answer the end of its institution; that they be authorized to dismiss, 
if they shall judge necessaiy, the persons who have been hitherto 
employed to conduct the same, and to appoint others in their stead, 
till the pleasure of Congress can be known, reporting to Congress the 
names of the principal persons by them appointed to conduct the 
business. 

May 2, 1778 .—Congress authorized the commissioners at Fort Pitt, or, in their 
absence, the officer appointed to command on the western frontier, to appoint a 
proper person to perform the duties of commissary to the militia of the counties 
of Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Botetourt, Montgomery, Washington, and 
Greenbrier, Va. 

May <28, 1778. 

Resolved, That all further purchases of clothing on account of the 
United States by the clothier-general, his deputies, or agents be forth¬ 
with suspended, and that they be directed immediately to prepare and 
bring in their accounts to the Board of Treasury, to be liquidated and 
settled. 

Resolved, That the hides belonging to the United States be applied 
toward furnishing the Army with shoes, as heretofore, under the 
direction of the Board of War; and that the said board do purchase or 
cause to be purchased shoes, stockings, and linen, for the use of the 
Continental Army, until the clothing department shall be properly 
arranged and organized. 

* * * 

Ordered, That all the linen, shirts, stockings, shoes, and blankets 
lately imported on account of these United States, now in Boston, 
Portsmouth, or in any other places in the State of Massachusetts Bay 
or New Hampshire, in whose hands soever the same may be, be imme¬ 
diately sent forward to the clothier-general or his order, to be by him 
delivered out, if necessary, for the use of the main army; and that the 
other articles of imported clothing only, whether they should hav’-e 
been delivered out to an}^ persons in the clothing department or others, 
or not, be removed with all convenient speed to Springfield, in 
the county of Hampshire, in the State of Massachusetts Bay, there to 


286 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


be stored, if practicable, under the constant care of a suitable store¬ 
keeper, who shall see that they be properly aired and otherwise 
attended to, so that they receive no damage by being stored; and the 
person or persons in whose care the same clothing shall be is hereby 
strictly forbidden to deliver out any part of the same without the 
special order of Congress or the Board of War. 

If the last-mentioned clothing can not all be conveniently stored in 
Springfield, that then the residue be stored at Worcester, in the same 
State, in like manner, and subject to the same directions as that part 
which may be stored at Springfield. The packages are to be carefully 
preserved for future transportation. 

June 4, 1778 .—Congress appointed Messrs. Carroll, Matthews, and Wentworth a 
committee to extract from the journals the resolutions relative to the regulations of 
the Commissary’s and Clothier’s departments. 

June 8, 1778. 

Resolved^ That an embargo be, and it hereby is, laid to prohibit the 
exportation of wheat, hour, lye, indian corn, rice, bread, beef, pork, 
bacon, live stock, and other provisions from any of these United 
States, from and after the 10th day of June instant until the 15th day 
of November next, unless sooner revoked by Congress; provided that 
this embargo shall not be construed to prevent the taking on board 
such provisions as shall be necessary for the stores only of any ships 
or vessels of war or others trading to and from these States. 

Resolved.^ That it be earnestly recommended to the respective States 
to take the most effectual measures for carrying the foregoing resolu¬ 
tion into immediate execution. 

June 10, 1778. 

Resolved.) That Governor Henry be requested to purchase for the 
United States the articles contained in the list hereto annexed, being 
part of the cargo of the French ship LeFier Roderlque) as cheap as he 
can, not exceeding the price following, viz, £450 Virginia money for 
every £100 sterling, to be paid in tobacco at 10 dollars per hundred, 
and that a letter be written to his excellency explaining the principle 
of such limitation. 

LIST OF ARTICLES. 

. . . Men’s silk and woolen stockings; woolen caps; the differ¬ 

ent kinds of buckles; uniform buttons for officers and soldiers; sleeve 
buttons; red cadis for the linings of uniforms; coarse and fine shirts; 
woolen blankets; soldiers’ hats; cloths, fine, for officers; ditto, coarse, 
for soldiers, and light ditto for soldiers; brass inkstands; white flan¬ 
nel sewing thread; linen spatterdashes for soldiers; soldiers’ clothing, 
ready-made; an assortment of handkerchiefs; . . . wrist bands 

for shirts; serges of different colors, viz, scarlet, sky-blue, brown, and 
white for linings; an assortment of sewing silks, men’s shoes, soldiers’ 
knapsacks; an assortment of brown and white linens; white Malaga in 
cases; red Burgundy in cases, 12 gross; claret in casks; 20 casks white 
wine vinegar. 

June 11, 1778. Patrick Lockhart, esq., was appointed to procure provisions and 
other necessaries for the expedition to reduce the garrison of Detroit and compel 
terms of peace from such of the Indian nations now in arms against the States Iving 
on or contiguous to the route between Fort Pitt and Detroit. The expedition"was 
deferred by resolve of July 25, 1778. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


287 


July 8, 1778. ' 

Ordered., That the clothier-general, (>i’ in his absence his deputy in 
Philadelphia, be directed immediately to make out and lay before 
Congress an exact and particular invoice of all and every kind of 
goods, wares, and merchandise which have been purchased or taken 
up by the clothier-general or any of his deputies within this city, 
together with a list of names of the persons of whom they have been 
purchased and from whom taken, and the prices at which they were 
purchased. 

My 13, 1778. 

^ liesolved, That the Commissary-General be directed to furnish the 
French squadron, under Mons.'^le Count d’Estaing, vice-admiral of 
France, with such provisions, from time to time, as shall be directed 
b}’: the Marine Conuiiittee, and to make return of his proceedings and 
expenditures on this occasion to that committee 

Aitgust 18, 1778. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be empowered and directed to take 
such measures with regard to the making up, storing, and transporting 
the imported clothing mentioned in the resolutions of Congress of the 
28th of May last as to them shall seem expedient and best adapted to 
present circumstances, anything contained in the said resolutions not¬ 
withstanding. 

August 21^,, 1778. 


Resolved, That the commissary-general of purchases do procure in 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, on the most reasonable 
terms, 20,000 barrels of flour. 

That the said commissary-general of purchases be directed to pro¬ 
cure vessels for the transportation of the flour aforesaid, and that he 
give timely notice of the sailing of said vessels, and confer thereon 
with the Marine Committee, to the end that convoy may be obtained 
and the destination thereof directed.^ 

August 26, 1778. 

The Board of War report that the commissaries-general of purchases 
and issues have represented to them that, from the moving state of the 
Army, man}^ parts of the ration as established by Congress, can not 
frequently be obtained, and, from the peculiar circumstances attend¬ 
ing the supplies, there is sometimes an overquantity of one article, 
while others are extremely scarce, some of the States aflording greater 
quantities of meat, while others abound more in flour; and that from 
hence great embarrassments arise in the delivery of the stated ration; 
and that under such fluctuating circumstances, which change with the 
motions of the Army, it is impracticable and troublesome to apply to 
Congress on every alteration of situations; whereupon 

Resolved, That the Commander in Chief of the armies of the United 

^ This action was based on the report of the committee, to whom the letter of the 
commissary-^neral of purchases was referred, “that the transportation of flour to 
the Eastern States by sea is wise and necessary.” 



288 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF IF. S. AEMY. 

States shall, in the army under his immediate command, and the com 
mander of a department shall, in the army under his command, settle 
and determine, according to circumstances, the ration to be issued to 
the troops from time to time, giving an overproportion of a plentiful 
article in lieu and in full satisfaction of such as are scarce or not to be 
had, and which have been heretofore deemed part of the ration, 
reporting from time to time to the Board of War such alterations and 
regulations by them respectively made in this respect. 

September 1, 1778. 

Resolvedj That the commissary-general of purchases be empowered 
and directed to appoint and remove at his pleasure an inspector of cat¬ 
tle, at a salaiy of four dollars a day, with an allowance of one ration a 
day and forage for one horse. 

That the duty of the said inspector shall be to receive and take 
account of the fat cattle at camp from the several drovers; to inspect 
over the bullock guard and pastures; to superintend the butchers, and 
see that no cattle are killed but those tit for use; to keep accounts of 
the beef delivered to the brigade commissaries, and settle the same 
with them every month; to see that the hides and tallow are seasonably 
delivered to the commissary of hides, and to superintend and regulate 
everything relating to beef cattle at camp. 

That he report monthly his proceedings to the Board of War, and all 
occurrences worth}^ of notice within the line of his duty. 

September 1778. 

Resolved^ That it be recommended to the legislative or executive 
powers of the State of Pennsylvania and the States southward thereof 
to permit such vessels to load with flour, wheat, rice, corn, pease, or 
beans for the Eastern States as shall come recommended by the 
executive powers of such States, or any of them, to carry provisions 
for the consumption of the people of those States. 

September ii, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That General Washington be informed that 

Congress have given orders for the purchase of 20,000 barrels of 
flour, to be transported by water for that purpose; and that he be 
authorized and directed to fix on the places where the said magazines 
shall be established, and to give the necessary orders to the . . . 

Commissary-General for carrying this resolution into execution. 

September 12, 1778. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of purchases be directed to 
give orders to his deputies and assistants forthwith to deliver to the 
commissary of forage and his deputies the bad wheat and offals of 
wheat which they at present have, or may hereafter, in their respec¬ 
tive possessions; and further, that the said commissary-general issue 
orders to the purchasers to be careful not to purchase, in future, dam¬ 
aged wheat, as the same is found by experience extremely injurious, 
even for the purposes of forage. 

September 19, 1778. —Mr. Mease asked Congress to appoint some one in his place. 
Nothing, however, was done, and January 9, 1781, Congress requested that the 
attorney-general of Pennsylvania institute proceeding against him for breach of trust 
and abuse of office. 


289 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 

October 2, 1778,^ 

Resolved^ That it be earnestly recommended to the legislative or, 
when vested with sufficient power, to the executive authorities of the 
States above mentioned [New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela¬ 
ware, Maryland, and Virginia] to authorize and direct any civil magis¬ 
trate within their respective jurisdictions, on an information given by 
the commissary . . . general, or by the deputy commissary . 
general of the respective districts, of any extraordinary quantity of 
grain or flour being^ purchased and in the possession of individuals, 
forthwith to issue his warrant empowering the informant to seize the 
spie for the public use, paying for the same such prices as to the respec¬ 
tive legislatures appear proper, to prevent the practice of engrossing 
those articles in future. 

* * -X- 

Resolved^ That the embargo on provisions, which, by the resolution 
of the 8th day of June last, was laid until the 15th day of November 
next, be continued in force, subject to such exceptions as are recom¬ 
mended by the resolution of September 2d, till the last day of January, 
1779, or until such time as Congress shall give notice to the respective 
States that sufficient supplies have been obtained for the operations of 
the Army and for the French squadron; and that it be recommended 
to the respective States to take the most effective measures for cariy- 
ing this resolution into effect. 

* * * 

Resolved^ That it be earnestly recommended to the legislative and 
executive authorities of the respective States not to grant any exemp¬ 
tion from embargo to any vessels whatever, unless, in addition to the 
former security recommended, the persons applying for the same com¬ 
ply with the following stipulations, to wit: 

* * * 

That the shippers shall first agree with the Commissary-General, or 
person b}^ him duly authorized for such purpose, on the price for 
which the flour shipped shall be delivered at one of the posts in the 
Eastern States for the public use. 

Resolved^ That the exemption from the embargo, as recommended 
by the resolution of Congress of September 2d, be extended to vessels 
belonging to the Middle and Southern as well as those of the Eastern 
States, under the restrictions and stipulations above mentioned. 

Resolved,, That the Commissary-General be authorized to despatch 
provisions vessels to the eastward, with or without convoy, as in his 
judgment shall be most conducive to the certain and speedy supply of 
those articles for the Army of the United States and the fleet of 
Count d’Estaing, notwithstanding any resolution of Congress hereto¬ 
fore made on this subject. 

October IS, 1778. 

Resolved, That Joseph Clay, esq., deputy paymaster-general, in the 
State of Georgia, be empowered and directed to pay into the hands of 
the deputy commissary, . . . and the deputy clothier-general in 

^This resolve was adopted because of the scantiness of the crops of wheat and 
other grain in the States mentioned therein and to defeat the operations of numerous 
speculators, forestallers, and engrossers. 

S. Doc. 229-19 




290 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


the said State (they obtaining a warrant from the commanding officer 
in the Southern Department) such sum or sums of money as may be 
wanting in their respective departments. . . . 

Resolved^ That the deputy commissary, . . . and the deputy 

clothier-general, in the State of Georgia, when they deliver their 
respective accounts of expenditures to the deputy paymaster-general,, 
do cause to be specified, on the receipts of the said accounts, that the 
same were paid in Continental currency, and that the sum be fully 
expressed in words. 

October 16, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That the commissary-general of purchases pro¬ 

vide a suitable supply of provisions for the said troops [guarding at 
Charlottsville,Va., British prisoners under the convention of Saratoga]. 

That the commissary-general of issues appoint a suitable person to 
issue provisions to the said troops and to keep a regular account 
thereof. 

That regular accounts for provisions and fuel be made and trans¬ 
mitted, from time to time, to the Board of War. 

October 19, 1778. 

Resolved, That Major James Gray be appointed deputy commissary- 
general of issues in the Northern Department. 

October 1778. 

Whereas upon the evacuation of this city [Philadelphia] by the Brit¬ 
ish army certain seizures were made of goods and efi'ects supposed to 
belong to the subjects of Great Britain, and other goods were taken 
up under contracts entered into with the inhabitants of this city by 
the officers in the departments of the . . . clothier and commis¬ 

sary generals, and a committee hath been appointed by Congress to 
examine into the conduct of the said officers in making the said seizures 
and contracts, that justice may be done to the public and individuals, 
but report hath not yet been made: 

Resolved, That the Board of War direct such of the said goods, whether 
seized or contracted for, as may be wanted for the immediate use of 
the Army, especially for clothing, to be appropriated for that purpose; 
and that the Board of War direct that the proper accounts be kept of 
the goods so appropriated, the quantity and quality, and of whom 
seized and with whom contracted for. 

October m, 1778. 

Resolved, That for the future no wheat be purchased for forage by 
any person for the use of the United States unless Congress shall 
order otherwise. 

* -X- * 

Resolved, That whenever it may be necessaiy to employ merchant 
vessels on account of these United States the same ought'to be char¬ 
tered rather than purchased; and that the Commissary-General, agent,' 
or contractor, on behalf of these United States, if he shall, at any time, 
find it expedient to take into the service of the Government vessels to 
be employed as transports on the high seas, and such vessels can not 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


291 


be obtained without insurance on the part of Government, shall cause 
the value thereof to be ascertained by three reputable men having 
knowledge in such business, on oath and under their hands and seals; 
which said valuation shall be invested in the charter party, and any 
loss that niay arise to the owner or owners by means of the enemy 
shall be paid according to the common course of insurance. 

October 28^ 1778, —^T. B. Girardeau, deputy commissary-general of issues in South 
Carolina and Georgia, resigned. General Howe provisionally appointed Mr. Mor- 
decai Shetfall in his place. 


Nommher 7, mS. 


Resolved,^ . . . That the commissaries-general of purchases and 

issues and their deputies be directed to comply with such requisitions 
as shall be made to them, from time to time, by the commissary-general 
of prisoners, for such articles of provisions as shall be necessary to 
furnish the British prisoners agreeably to the above direction of 
Congress. 

Noveinhef!' 10^ 1778. 

Whereas it has become necessary not only that speedy and vigorous 
measures should be taken to regulate the commissary’s . . . depart¬ 
ments, but also that constant attention should be paid to those depart¬ 
ments: 

Resolved., That Mr. Scudder, Mr. G. Morris, and Mr. Whipple be 
a committee to superintend the same departments, and that they, or 
any two of them, be empowered to take such steps relating to the 
same as they shall think most for the public service. 

November 30, 1778. —Mr. Searle was added to the committee on the clothier’s 
department. 


December 7, 1778. 

Congress took into consideration a report from the Board of War of 
the 14th of August last, wherein the board sets forth— 

That Colonel George Morgan, purchasing commissary for the Western 
Department, has represented to the board the necessity of preparing 
immediately for the laying of such magazines of provisions as shall be 
sufficient for the troops maintained for the defense of the Western 
frontiers; that for the supply of 1,300 men for ten months, 617,500 
lbs. of flour, a like quantity of fresh beef or 494,000 lbs. of pork will 
be necessary; the cost of which, with 1,500 gallons of whiskey, will 
amount to 204,000 dollars; . . . whereupon. 

Resolved., That Colonel George Morgan, commissary of provisions 
for the Western district, be furnished with 204,000 dollars, to enable 
him to form magazines of provisions for the use of that department 
the year ensuing. 

January 1, 1779. —“ The brigade commissaries are to deliver their hides and tallow 
to the commissary of hides at Boundbrook.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle- 
brook.) 

January 21, 1779. —“The deputy clothier-general is to issue a woolen cap to each 
effective man present belonging to the brigades in this camp on returns made by the 
commanding officers of brigades, countersigned by the Adjutant-General.” 

“The brigade commissaries are regularly to turn in all the cattles’ horns and feet 
at least once a week.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middlebrook.) 

January 28, 1779. —“John Mehelm, esq. [is] appointed commissary of hides for 
the State of New Jersey.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middlebrook.) 


292 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY 
February i, 1779. 

BesoVued., That the Commander in Chief give such directions as he may 
think proper for arranging the commissary’s . . . departments 

to the westward, any resolutions of Congress notwithstanding; . . . 

March 5, 1779. 

Besol/ved^ That the . . . commissary of purchases and clothier- 

general and such of their deputies as they shall appoint for that purpose 
be, and they are hereby, authorized and directed to pay all certificates 
(of the authenticity whereof they are or shall be satisfied) for provi¬ 
sions, . . . clothing, or other articles within the line of their 

respective departments, furnished by the inhabitants to the troops or 
detachments, or in cases of necessity, where supplies could not be 
obtained in a regular course; for which sums so to be paid they shall 
be allowed for their trouble one-half per cent and no more. The evi¬ 
dence of such supplies being furnished shall, so far as regards the party 
of whom received, be the certificates of the officers receiving them. 
But the officers in the said departments, the clothiers excepted, paying 
the same shall notify the officers who gave such certificates to render 
an account of the application of the articles so received, and the said 
officers are hereby directed to render such account accordingly; and 
the said . . . commissary-general and their deputies so paying 

the said certificates are hereby authorized and empowered to examine 
and settle the said accounts. 

* * * 

The clothier-general or his deputies shall transmit to the commis¬ 
sioner appointed for settling the accounts of the arrearages of cloth¬ 
ing due to the soldiers in the Army copies of such certificates as shall 
be paid by him, that the officers signing the certificates may be called 
on by the said commissioner to render an account of the distribution 
of the articles, which shall be duly charged to the men who have 
received them. In case of misconduct of any officer signing a certifi¬ 
cate, the like proceedings shall be had, on the application and report 
of the commissioner of clothing, as are hereinbefore directed. 

No certificate given before this date shall be paid unless the same 
be {presented for payment within six months from this day; and no 
certificate hereafter given shall be paid unless presented to the proper 
officer within three months after the date thereof. 

And whereas it will be necessary that in future certificates be more 
formally authenticated, to prevent many inconveniences which may 
arise similar to those already experienced: 

Resolved., That certificates hereafter given by commissioned officers 
for articles received for the use of the Army be signed with their 
names at full length and the rank they hold, and if under a general 
Qfficer, that the regiment to which they belong be added; 

That the particular articles received be inserted in the body of the 
certificate, their value, the time when and place where received, in 
letters and not in figures; 

That the certificates be directed to the principal of the department, 
whose duty it is to provide the articles so received, or his nearest 
deputy, separate certificates to be given whensoever the articles apper¬ 
tain to the several departments; 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 


293 


That officers keep exact copies of the certificates they give, and 
transmit other copies to the nearest deputy or agent in the department, 
giving him the necessary information respecting the business. 

That the deputies transmit copies of all the certificates they pay to 
their principals, that enquiry may be made whether the giving the 
certificates was necessaiy for the public service and whether the things 
received have been properly applied. 

March n, 1779. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general be, and hereby is, ordered, if 
there be any of the goods on hand by him taken from the merchants 
of Philadelphia at the time of the evacuation of the city by the enemy 
and not fit for the use of the Army, to return such goods to the persons 
from whom the}^ were taken without dela}^; that for all such goods as 
he has sold to private persons he pay to the persons from whom they 
were taken the sums for which they were sold. 

* * * 

That the clothier-general . . . pay to the memorialists from 

whom goods were taken for public use the current price of the same 
at the time the said goods were taken. 

March 13, 1779. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general ... be directed to lay 
before Congress without delay a full account of the sales and distri¬ 
bution of the goods taken from the inhabitants of Philadelphia when 
that city was evacuated by the enemy. 

March 16,1779. 

Resolved, That all warrant officers on the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to arrests, 
trials, and punishments. 

Whereas the issuing commissaries of provisions are by their appoint¬ 
ments attached to particular departments, which from a change of 
circumstances and position of the Army is become inconvenient: 

Resolved, therefore. That all issuing commissaries shall for the future 
attend and perform the duties of their office at such places and with 
such detachments of the Army as shall be directed by the Commander 
in Chief or commissary-general of issues. 

March 23,1779. 

ORDINANCE for regulating the clothing department for the armies of the United 

States. 

There shall be a clothier-general, a sub or State clothier for each 
State, and a regimental clothier. 

The clothier-general is to be subject to the orders of the Board of 
War and Commander in Chief. He is to furnish estimates of the supplies 
wanted for the Army; to apply to the Commander in Chief and Board 
of War for assistance therein; to make returns of such estimates to 
them respectively; to receive all supplies imported from abroad and 
purchased in the country by continental agents; to superintend the 


294 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


distribution thereof among the State clothiers; to settle accounts with 
them at least eveiy six months; to keep regular accounts of all the 
clothing he shall receive, as well as the distribution thereof among 
the State clothiers; and to transmit his accounts twice in every year 
to the Board of Treasury and settle them in the chambers of accounts 
when required; and, generally, to take care on the one hand that justice 
is done to the public, on the other that the Army receive whatever 
shall be allowed them in a regular, direct, and seasonable manner; and 
at the same time so to act between the continent and each particular 
State that equal and impartial justice may be done on all sides. 

THE SUB OR STATE CLOTHIER. 

A sub or State clothier is to be appointed by each State, respec¬ 
tively, to reside with or near the Army, or such detachment thereof in 
which the troops of the said State may be, as the Commander in Chief 
shall direct, the better to know and suppl}" their wants. The State 
appointing him is to be answerable for his conduct. In case of neglect 
or misbehavior he is to be displaced by the Commander in Chief and 
his successor to be appointed by the State to which he belonged. He 
is to receive from the clothier-general the proportion of clothing 
assigned for the troops of his State out of the public clothing imported 
or purchased by continental agents, and from the State for which he 
is appointed all the clothing which may at continental expense be pur¬ 
chased in such State. Of the latter, their quality and price, he shall 
transmit exact accounts to the clothier-general, and, when required, 
submit the several articles to the inspection of the clothier-general or 
any person for that purpose deputed by him. He is to issue all cloth¬ 
ing supplied as aforesaid to the regimental clothiers on returns signed 
by the commanding officers of regiments. He is to keep exact returns 
with each regiment, inspect those of the regimental clothiers, see that 
the articles delivered them are duly issued to the troops, and that all 
the clothing procured at continental expense, above the allowance made 
by Congress, drawn by noncommissioned officers and privates is charged 
to them and credited to the pay roll, and that the commissioned officers 
receive what is credited to them and no more. He is to keep exact 
accounts with the clothier-general in behalf of the public, charging the 
United States with only what is allowed to the officers and men. 
Whenever the troops of any State shall have received their proportion 
of clothing from the continental stores, the supplies purchased at con¬ 
tinental expense by the State to which they belong, or from both, and 
there shall remain a surplus which may be wanted for other troops not 
full}^ supplied, the subclothier possessed thereof is to deliver over the 
surplus to such other State clothier as the clothier-general shall direct, 
taking duplicate invoices and receipts from the State clothier to whom 
they shall be transferred, one set of which he is to deposit with the 
clothier-general and the other to remain as his own voucher, the 
clothier-general on his part making proper entries in his accounts, to 
do justice to all concerned. 

When, from a deficiency in the public store, the troops of any State 
shall not have received their allowance of clothing, the State clothier 
is without delay to represent their wants, particularly enumerated in 
a return for that purpose, to the executive authority of the State to 
which he belongs, requesting a speedy and adequate supply. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETTHENT. 


295 


And in case n State, at its own expense, shall give and deposit with 
him any clothing, for the more comfortable subsistence of its quota of 
troops, in addition to the allowance made by Congress, he is strictly to 
pursue the directions of such State, as well with respect to the distri¬ 
bution as the vouchers for the delivery and the manner and time of 
settling his accounts, transmitting once in every six months a copy of 
such accounts to the clothier-general, and as often, and whenever 
required, to the State to which he belongs. 

* -X- * 

. . . And to prevent in future unequal distribution of clothing 

either to the officers or soldiers, and the confusion and complaints, 
which have heretofore been occasioned by irregular applications from 
commanding officers of regiments to public agents in different parts, it 
is hereby strictly enjoined on those agents, the clothier-general, and 
the sub or State clothiers to issue no clothing on any pretence whatso- 
eyer but in the manner before prescribed, nor shall any article be cred¬ 
ited to either of them on settlement of their accounts which is not to 
be issued and vouched. 

And whereas discretionary changes of the uniforms of regiments 
have proved inconvenient and expensive, the Commander in Chief is 
therefore hereby authorized and directed, according to the circum¬ 
stances of supplies and clothing, to fix and prescribe the uniform, as 
well with regard to the color and facings as the cut or fashion of the 
clothes, to be worn by the troops of the respective States and regi¬ 
ments, which shall, as far as possible, be complied with by all pur¬ 
chasing agents employed by Congress, as well as particular States, by 
the clothier-general, sub or State clothiers, and regimental clothiers, 
and all officers and soldiers in the armies of the United States. And 
where materials can be purchased instead of read 3 "-made clothes it 
shall alwa\^s be preferred, in order that they may be made up by the 
tailors of the several regiments, to save expense and prevent the dis¬ 
advantages which the soldiers frequentl}^ suffer from their unfitness; 
and instead of breeches, woolen overalls for the winter and linen for 
the summer are to be substituted. 

That the board of war prepare and transmit instructions and forms, 
according to which the several clothiers are to conduct the business 
and settle their accounts; and that the board of war report to Congress 
the proper salaries or allowances to be made to the several clothiers 
for their services. 

Marches, 1770.—'ThQ Commander in Chief directs that the following ration be 
delivered to the Army until further orders: 21 ounces of beef, or 18 ounces of pork; 
16 ounces of bread or flour; 1 gill of spirits occasionally. The usual quantity of soap 
and candles.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle-Brook.) 

March SI, 1779. —In view of the great fidelity, prudence, care, and economy wdiich 
characterized the services of the late Commissary-General Trumbull, Congress author¬ 
ized the following allowances for the benefit of his heirs, viz: A commission of i per 
cent on the gross sum of all moneys received and disbursed by him; also, a commis¬ 
sion of 2} per cent on such sums as appeared to have been laid out in purchases made 
by himself; and, finallv, a further commission of ^ per. cent on the gross sums received, 
as a compensation for his extra services in issuing, purveying, quartermaster’s duties, 
and various contingencies of office, extra expenses, etc. 

A2yril 6, 1779. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the clothier- 
general have a salary of 5,000 dollars per annum. 

Whereas the duties of the sub or State clothiers who are to be 


296 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


appointed according to the late regulations of the clothier’s depart¬ 
ment will be very unequal, the quota of battalions of the several States 
differing: 

Resolved, That each State determine and pay the salary proper for 
its clothier, and that each State clothier shall be allowed two rations 
and forage for one horse per day during the time he is in actual serv¬ 
ice with the Army and going to and returning from the same; 

That the regimental clothiers have an allowance of 30 dollars per 
month in addition to their present appointment; 

That the clothier-general be authorized to employ one clerk, who 
shall receive the same allowance as the clerks of the auditors of the 
Army. 

April 8, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Board of War and Ordnance be authorized to 
appoint persons to purchase necessaries for the Arm}^ until the further 
order of Congress. 

Alay 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That the pay of 200 dollars per month be allowed to the 
deputy commissary-general of issues, to commence from the 1st day of 
January last; 

That the assistant commissaries of issues at every magazine, post, 
or brigade of the Army be allowed 90 dollars per month, and the clerks 
of the commissary-general and deputy commissary-general of issues 
the sum of 80 dollars per month; 

That the clerks of the brigade commissaries and those at posts and 
magazines be allowed 50 dollars per month; but no such clerk to be 
employed where the daily issues do not equal 400 rations; 

That a clerk of the scales be allowed 35 dollars per month; 

That every deputy commissary-general of issues be entitled to forage 
for two horses; 

That eveiy brigade commissary be entitled to forage for one horse; 
and whensoever the duty of the department requires the commissaries 
at posts and magazines to travel, the quartermaster at the post shall 
furnish a horse for the occasion; 

When the [duty of the] deputy of an assistant commissaiy absolutely 
requires that he should travel, he shall be allowed three dollars for 
every day he shall so necessarily travel for and toward his expenses 
on the journey; 

That the deputy commissaries-general of issues shall once in six 
months visit all the magazines, posts, and issuing stores in their respec¬ 
tive districts, to examine the state of the provisions and stores, and 
see that their assistants are punctual in the discharge of their duty, 
and they shall be allowed three dollars per day for their traveling 
expenses in making such circuits; 

That an active list of all the commissaries of issues be made out once 
in every three months and lodged with the Board of War; and every 
such commissary who shall have been in the department for one year 
previous to this date, and now continues therein, shall be entitled to 
draw out of the clothier-general’s store one suit of clothes for himself 
and one suit for his clerk, to be paid for at the same rate that officers 
in the line are charged for the same; and that they continue annually 
to do the same until Congress shall order otherwise. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


297 


June U, 1779. 

According to the order of the day, Congress proceeded to the elec¬ 
tion of a clothier-general; and, the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Peter Wikolff was elected, having been previously nominated 
by Mr. Armstrong. 

July 9, 1779. 

Besolved^ That the executive powers of each State be earnestly 
requested instanth^ to make the strictest inquiry into the conduct of 
every person within such State respectively employed, either in . . . 

or purchasing, or issuing Commissary-General’s Department, and in 
case of any kind of misbehavior, or strong suspicion thereof, in any 
such person not being an officer immediately appointed by Congress, 
to remove or suspend every such person, ordering him at their discre¬ 
tion to be prosecuted at the expense of the United States, and to appoint 
another in his place if necessary, and so, from time to time, as occa¬ 
sion may be, giving notice to the JBoard of War and also to the . . . 

Commissary-General in whose department such removal or suspension 
shall be of the change; the person so appointed to have the same 
authority and pay which the person removed had been vested with 
and entitled to, or such pay as the said executive powers, respectively, 
shall agree for, to be in like manner subject to the head of the depart¬ 
ment to which he belongs, and to observe all the regulations for the 
government of . . . deputy commissaries, respectively; and that 

the executive powers of each State be in like manner requested to 
inquire into the number of persons employed in the . . . Com¬ 

missary’s Department, and immediately to discharge such as shall be 
judged unnecessary. 

July 15, 1779. 

Mr. Persifer Frazer was nominated b}^ Mr. McKean for the office 
of clothier-general; 

Congress proceeded to the election; and, the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Persifer Frazer was elected. 

July 19, 1779. —Mr. Frazer declined office of clothier-general. 

July ^3, 1779. 

Resolved, That whensoever the business of the hide department shall 
require it in any State, the Board of War be authorized and directed to 
appoint a proper person to be commissary of hides therein, removable 
by the said board for mismanagement, or when by the alteration of 
circumstances in the particular State no such officer is further neces¬ 
sary; provided, that when the business of the Department will admit 
of it, two or more States may, by the said board, be put under the 
direction of one commissary; 

That the Board of War draw up instructions from time to time for 
the direction and government of the commissaries of hides in the 
respective States, and they are hereby enjoined to regulate their con¬ 
duct by such instructions; 

That it be recommended to the executive powers of the respective 
States in which commissaries of hides are thought necessary to be 
appointed to superintend their conduct, and in case of delinquency to 


298 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


suspend the person acting in that office, informing Congress or the 
Board of War thereof, and of the reason on which such suspension is 
founded; 

That the clothier-general have the superintendence of the commis¬ 
saries of hides, and that he be allowed a clerk extraordinary to enable 
him to transact the business with the said commissaries, who shall make 
returns at least quarterly to the clothier-general, and he shall draw the 
whole of the returns received from the several commissaries into a 
general return and transmit the same quarterly to the Board of War; 

That the clothier-general supply moneys from time to time to the 
commissaries in the respective States, to enable them to perform their 
contracts and pay their assistants and clerks, and that he be furnished 
with money accordingly by the Board of Treasury, on estimates signed 
by the Board of War; 

That the respective commissaries of hides have so many assistants 
and clerks as in the opinion of the Board of War the circumstances of 
their business shall from time to time require; 

That the pay of a commissary of hides be a sum not exceeding 300 
dollars per month, one ration per day, the value of three rations more, 
as it now is or hereafter shall be settled for officers in the line, and 
forage for one horse; 

That the pay of an assistant commissar}" be a sum not exceeding 140 
dollars per month, one ration per day, and the value of one ration 
more as above mentioned, and forage for one horse. 

Resolved^ That the pay of a clerk be a sum not exceeding a hundred 
dollars per month, one ration per day, and the value of one ration 
more as aforesaid. 

My 1779. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a clothier-general; and, the 
ballots being taken, 

Mr. James Wilkinson was elected, having been previously nomi¬ 
nated by Mr. Henry. 

August 16., 1779. 

ResoV^ed^ That the clothier general estimate the value of the several 
articles of soldiers’ clothing at the prices they were respectively worth 
at the end of the year 1778, and forthwith transmit such estimates to 
the paymasters of the several regiments, who shall be furnished out 
of the military chest with moneys to pay the soldiers for all deficien¬ 
cies of clothing, at the estimated prices of every article as fixed by 
the clothier-general, who shall henceforward transmit like estimates 
before the close of every year during the war, so that the soldiers be 
paid by the regimental paymaster, according to such estimates annually, 
and previous to their discharge when the same happens before the end 
of the year, for all articles of clothing allowed them by the resolution 
of Congress of the 6th of September, 1777, which^they have not 
received, and which are or shall be due to them after the year last 
mentioned. 

August 17, 1779. 

Ordered, That two members be added to the committee for superin¬ 
tending the departments of the . . . Commissary-General. 

The members chosen, Mr. Root and Mi*. Scudder. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


299 


Septemher 1, 1779. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of purchases be directed to 
appoint a deputy for the special purpose of providing for the troops 
of the convention of Saratoga and their guards during their stay in 
Virginia. 

* * * 

Resolved., That he give orders to the said deputy to confine his pur¬ 
chases to places from whence supplies for the armies of these States 
can not conveniently be drawn. 

Resolved., That the amounts of supplies for the said convention troops 
be kept distinct from the accounts of those purchased for and issued 
to the troops of the United States. 

September 4, 1779. —One hundred dollars monthly for subsistence allowed every 
cornet of horse until further orders. 

Septemher 10, 1779. 

Resolved, That it be earnestly recommended to the governments of 
the several States immediately to provide large quantities of clothing 
for their respective quotas of troops. 

That particular attention be paid to the articles of hats, hose, shirts, 
blankets, and shoes, which are indispensably necessary and immedi¬ 
ately wanted, and without which the troops must severely suffer. 

That the clothing so purchased or procured by the States, respec¬ 
tively, be delivered to the sub or State clothiers agreeably to the 
ordinance of the 23rd of March last. 

That the sub or State clothiers make regular monthly returns to the 
clothier-general of all clothing received from their respective States. 
* * * 

Resolved, . . . That the Board of War be directed to inform 

the executive powers of the several States from time to time of any 
considerable additions to the stock of clothing provided b}^ the United 
States, by importation or otherwise, that whensoever all or any con¬ 
siderable part of the clothing for the troops is or shall be provided by 
the United States, the governments of the several States may cease 
further provisions. 

September 17, 1779. 

Resolved, That Congress entertain a just sense of the exertions of 
the Board of War in superintending and directing the necessary pur¬ 
chases of clothing for the Army, and of their constant attention to 
that important business, and that it is necessary that the board should 
for the present campaign, and until some more expedient arrangement 
can be adopted, provide by every means in their power, and upon the 
best terms they are able, the necessary supplies of clothing as aforesaid. 

Septemhet^ 27, 1779. 

Resolved, That a member be added to the committee appointed to 
superintend the . . . Commissary-General’s departments, and that 

another be elected in the room of Mr. Whipple, who is absent. 

The members chosen, Mr. Jenifer and Mr. Mercer. 


300 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

September SO, 1779. 

Resolved, That Mr. J. Bradford, Continental agent at Boston, be 
directed to sell and deliver, out of the stores of these United States 
there, to the State of New York, on or before the 1st day of January 
next, or to such person or persons as shall be authorized by them for 
the purpose, any quantity of sugar and rum, not exceeding 500 hogs¬ 
heads of the former and 50 hogsheads of the latter, at the current 
wholesale price of those articles in cash; and that it be recommended 
to the legislature or executive powers of the said State to cause the 
said rum and sugar to be sold and distributed among the people in 
such manner as that all may partake of the benefit intended them, 
and at no higher price than will raise the amount of the prime cost 
and charges; 

That the marine committee be directed to give the necessary orders 
to enable the Commissary-General to perform his engagements actually 
made with the people for sugar, &c. 

* * * 

That the Commissary-General be informed that, although the neces¬ 
sity of the case may justify his using the expedient in this instance, 
yet Congress can not approve of his making any purchases in ordinary 
cases other ways than for money. 

Octoher 18, 1779. 

Resolved, That the board of war be directed to give the necessaiy 
orders to the commissary-general of purchases and the commissary- 
general of issues for supplying the convention troops with rations of 
Indian meal, in lieu of flour. . . . 

Octoler 28, 1779. 

Resolved, That the board of war be authorized to purchase a quan¬ 
tity of leather, not exceeding 100,000 lbs. weight, in the State of 
South Carolina. 

That the board of war be authorized to draw upon the governor of 
the State of South Carolina for such sum or sums as will be necessary 
to pay for the said leather, and that the governor of the said State of 
South Carolina be requested to advance, out of the taxes raised on the 
Continental account, such sums as shall be drawn for by the board of 
war for that purpose. 

November 5, 1779. —Messrs. Wynkoop and Forbes were added to the committee 
appointed to superintend the commissary-general’s department. 

November 11, i77P.—“The commissary-general having represented the difficulty of 
keeping up his supplies of flour, owing to the uncommon drought which has stopped 
most of the mills, the Commander in Chief is under the necessity, on that account, 
of reducing the ration of that article till further orders to three-quarters of a pound 
per day, the deflciency to be made up in meat and roots.” [Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Moords House.) 

November 13, 1775.—“The commissaries to issue the following quantities of meat 
or vegetables in lieu of the reduced ration of flour: For every 100 lbs. of flour reduced 
from the issue, 75 lbs. beef or 50 lbs. pork, or, if received in vegetables, 2^ bushels 
pease, or 2^ bushels beans, or 8 bushels potatoes, or 12 bushels turnips, and so on in 
proportion for any greater or less quantity.” ( Orders, General Headquarters, Moords 
House.) 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 


301 


Novemher 16^ 1779. 

Hesolved, That in addition to the subclothiers appointed by virtue 
of the ordinance of the 23rd of March, 1779, for regulating the cloth¬ 
ing department, the clothier-general, with the approbation of the board 
of war and the Commander in Chief, appoint a subclothier to receive 
from the clothier-general and the several sub-State clothiers the pro¬ 
portion of clothing assigned the artillery, cavalry, artificers, and corps 
composed of troops from different States, according to the general esti¬ 
mate, and to cause such clothing to be distributed to the officers and 
soldiers of the several corps aforesaid, and in all other respects to gov¬ 
ern his conduct in the execution of the said business agreeably to the 
regulation of Congress of the 23rd of March, 1779, respecting the 
subclothiers. 

November 17, 1779. —“The subclothiers of the respective States or those appointed 
to act pro temp, are to call at the clothier-general’s store at New Burg to-morrow to 
receive their proportions of blankets; if the blankets differ in quality, the clothier- 
general is to regard this circumstance, giving to each State of the best and worst in 
due proportion.” Soldiers who were enlisted for the war, or three years, are only 
entitled to blankets. {Orders, General Headquarters, Moore's House.) 

Novemher 25., 1779. 

Whereas, Congress by sundry resolutions have provided that cloth¬ 
ing be furnished to officers of the line and others, at prices propor¬ 
tioned to their pay; but no enumeration of the articles intended to be 
comprehended in a suit of clothes having been made or any rules 
explicitly laid down for the delivery of or payment for the same: 

Hesolved, That the following articles be delivered as a suit of clothes 
for the current and every succeeding year of their service to the offi¬ 
cers of the . . . staff, entitled by any resolution of Congress to 

receive the same, viz: 

One hat, one watch-coat, one body-coat, four vests, one for winter 
and three for summer; four pair of breeches, two for winter and two 
for summer, four shirts, four stocks, six pair of stockings, three pair 
thereof worsted and three of thread, four pair of shoes. 

For which articles of clothing the officers shall pay, on receipt 
thereof, one-half more than the prices at which the same were cur¬ 
rently sold before the commencement of hostilities in April, 1775; 
and for this end the purchasing agents employed on Continental account 
shall transmit to the clothier-general, with the clothing they shall 
respectively purchase, the prices marked thereon at the rates afore¬ 
said, and also current invoices of the same and copies of such rates and 
invoice, to the board of war, and all clothing purchased on Continental 
account by the respective States shall be valued, marked, and invoiced 
in like manner, and copies of such invoices and rates also transmitted 
to the board of war and the clothier-general; the clothing so pur¬ 
chased shall be distributed to and among the sub or State clothiers, to 
be issued by them to the regimental clothiers, and by the latter to the 
officers of the regiments and corps; and the said regimental clothiers 
shall receive from the officers, on delivery of the clothing, the prices 
thereof so fixed, and they shall every three months settle their accounts 
of monies received for clothing with the auditors of the army in which 
they shall serve, and pay the monies which in such settlements shall 
be found chargeable to them, or in their hands, to the paymaster-general 


302 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


or deputy paymaster-general of the army or detachment in which such 
regimental clothier shall serve; and the said paymaster-general or dep¬ 
uty paymaster-general shall make returns of the amount of all such 
monies so received to the board of treasury, that the said paymaster- 
general or deputy paymaster-general may be duly charged with the same. 
The auditors making such settlements with the regimental clothiers shall 
transmit to the paymaster or deputy paymaster-general abstracts of such 
settlements, specifying the balances due from the regimental clothiers, 
respectively, that in cases of neglect they may be duly called on for 
payment of the same; copies of such abstracts shall also be transmitted 
to the board of treasury. Excepting from this rule of distribution 
all staff officers not taken from the line, who are to receive their cloth¬ 
ing immediately from the clothier-general, or if attached to the corps 
of or residing in any State at a distance from the clothier-general’s 
store, from the subclothier of such State, paying for the same at the 
rates aforesaid; and all monies so received by the clothier-general or 
sub or State clothiers shall be placed to the credit of the United States, 
and accounts thereof duly transmitted to the board of treasury, the 
clothier-general to be charged in the settlement of his contingent 
account with the monies so received and the sub or State clothiers to 
be accountable for and pay the monies received by them to the order 
of the executive of the State appointing them, respective^, and the 
State to be charged in its clothing account with the amount of such 
monies. Excepting also all staff officers who receive commissions on 
their expenditures of public monies, who are not to receive any cloth¬ 
ing provided at Continental expense. 

That all clothing issued to noncommissioned officers and soldiers, 
enlisted artificers, and wagoners, beyond that allowed to them as a 
bounty, shall also be valued and paid for at the rate before mentioned, 
but no noncommissioned officer, soldier, wagoner, or artificer shall be 
entitled to purchase in any one year out of the public store any other 
additional articles than those of hats, hose, shirts, and shoes, and not 
more of these than are absolutely necessary, and not exceeding the 
number of the like articles allowed as their bounty clothing. 

That all the clothing before mentioned for officers in th^e line and 
soldiers shall be issued on returns certified by the commanding officer 
of the corps to which they belong; all clothing to staff officers on the 
certificate of their principal with the army or in the district within 
which they shall serve; to artificers on the certificate of the command¬ 
ing officer of their corps, and to wagoners on the certificate of the 
Quartermaster-General, one of the assistant quartermasters-general, or 
of the deputy quartermaster-general employing them, or of the wagon 
master general, or deputy wagon master general under whom they 
serve. 

That no staff officer, artificer, or wagoner, not being engaged for at 
least one year, shall receive clothing; and if any such officer, artificer, 
or wagoner, being engaged for one year or more, after receipt of such 
clothing, shall quit the service before the expiration of the term for 
which he or they are or shall be engaged, he or they shall forfeit and 
pay the full value of such clothing and be subject to all other penal¬ 
ties and inconveniences attending his or their breach of contract or 
desertion. 

* -X- * 

Besolved, That the departments of the . . . commissaries- 

general of purchases and issues be, for the future, under the super- 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


303 


intendency and direction of the Board of War; and that the committee 
of Congress on those departments deliv^er over to the Board of War 
all papers in their hands respecting them and thereupon be discharged. 

Niwemher 1779. 

Hesolved^ ... That no clothing shall be sold or delivered to 
noncommissioned officers or soldiers beyond the articles they have 
received as their bounty until the whole of the Arni}^ shall have received 
their bounty clothing, it being the intention hereof that the surplus 
only shall be disposed of. 

November 29, 1779 .—Jeremiah Wadsworth, commissary-general of purchases, was 
given leave to resign his office on January 1, 1780. 

Nominber SO., 1779. 

Resolved., That the Board of War be directed to procure from the 
. . . commissaries-general, ... a return of all the assist¬ 

ants, deputies, officers, agents, and other persons employed in their 
respective departments, the districts in which they are so employed, 
and the terms upon which they are engaged; and that such returns be 
made by the first day of January next. 

December 1779. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary-general of pur¬ 
chases; and, the ballots being taken, 

Ephraim Blaine, esq., was elected. 

December J, 1779. 

Resolved., That J. Wadsworth, esq., be informed that Congress have 
agreed to accept his resignation, and have elected Ephraim Blaine, 
esq., to succeed him, but as Mr. Blaine has not j-et signified his accept¬ 
ance, and a failure of supplies may be attended with dangerous conse¬ 
quences, that Mr. Wadsworth, and the deputies under him, be desired 
to continue in the business of supplying the Army until his successor 
shall have accepted and shall be in capacity to enter upon and execute 
the duties of the office. 


December 11^ 1779. 

Resolved., That the legislature of the State of Virginia be requested 
to furnish for the Army of the United States, on or before the 1st 
day of April next, 20,000 barrels of Indian corn, and transport the 
same to such places within the said State as the commissary-general of 
purchases shall direct. 

That the legislature of the State of Maryland be requested, in addi¬ 
tion to the 15,000 barrels of flour heretofore required of them, to fur¬ 
nish for the Army of the United States, on or before the 1st day of 
April next, 5,000 barrels of flour and 5,000 barrels of Indian corn. 

That the State of Pennsylvania be requested to furnish for the 
Army of the United States, on or before the 1st day of April next, 
50,000 barrels of flour, or wheat in proportion. 

That the 10,000 barrels of flour, or wheat in proportion, heretofore 


304 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

requested from the State of Delaware by the committee of Congress, 
be furnished as soon as possible. 

That 8,000 barrels of flour be requested from the State of New 
Jersey, part of which to be furnished as soon as possible, to answer 
the immediate demands of the Army. 

That the State of Connecticut be requested to furnish for the Army 
of the United States 8,000 barrels of flour. 

December ij, 1779. 

Whereas the aid of the several States is necessary in furnishing 
provisions for the Army and other supplies for carrying on the war, 
and justice requires that they be called upon to furnish their respective 
quotas at equitable prices: 

Resol/ced., That all States shall be called upon to furnish their quotas 
of such supplies as may, from time to time, be wanted for carrying on 
the war; and in making the requisitions due care shall be taken to 
suit the convenience of the several States; and the articles b}^ them 
respectively furnished shall be credited towards their quotas of the 
monies which they are called upon to raise for the United States, at 
equal prices for articles of the same kind and quality, and for others 
in due proportion; and the accounts shall be Anally compared and 
adjusted so as to do equity to all the States. 

December 17., 1779. 

Resolved., That when the legislature of any State shall have under¬ 
taken to procure its quota of any of the articles required, all purchases 
of such articles by the commissaries . . . shall in such State be 

discontinued. . . . 

December 24 , 1779 .—The honorable the Board of War having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen and directed the distribution of them among the officers of 
the line and staff who are not adopted by any State, the clothier-general is to 
deliver them upon returns signed by the commanding officers and heads of the fol¬ 
lowing corps and departments at the rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 
25th of November last: Regiments of cavalry, of additional infantry, and companies 
of artillery; Corps of Engineers, including sappers and miners; Armand’s and Lee’s 
corps; aides-de-camp not belonging to the line; surgeons of the general and flying 
hospital; muster-masters; judge-advocate; auditors and deputy paymaster-general; 
military surveyors. ( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

January i, 1780. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of purchases be allowed a 
salaiy at the rate of 40,000 dollars by the year, until the further order 
of Congress; also six rations a day and forage for four horses. 

Resolved., That an assistant commissary be appointed by the Com¬ 
missary-General to each of the States in which it shall be necessary 
that purchases be made under him, and in which provision shall not 
have been made by the States, respectively, for furnishing the neces¬ 
sary supplies. 

That the said assistant commissaries be allowed on all good mer¬ 
chantable articles which may be purchased by them or under their 
direction, respectively, two per cent on 20-fold the prices they were 
sold at in the year 1774, until the further order of Congress; out of 
which they shall pay all their agents and defray the whole expense 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


305 


attending such purchases; nor shall they or any of their agents be 
entitled to rations or forage, except when called by the necessary 
business of their department to attend the Army. 

And in order the better to ascertain such prices, 

Besolved^ That the executive power of every State be requested to 
return to the board of treasury a list of the commodities usually sold 
within such State, and the price current in the year 1774; and that 
copies of such lists be furnished from thence to the Commissary- 
General and his assistants; 

That the Commissary-General be directed to keep regular accounts, 
in which he shall charge all persons belonging to his Department with 
the money advanced to them, and give them credit for the purchases 
made by them, entering their respective accounts at large; that he 
check all accounts within his Department and reject improper charges; 
direct the manner in which the accounts of his respective deputies shall 
be kept, ordering the articles purchased to be entered under distinct 
heads, so that the expenditures for each separate article may be seen 
at one view; that he shall once in every three months, or oftener if 
required, exhibit a fair and comprehensive view of the state of his 
purchases, in columns; the manner in which the same has been expended, 
and the stock on hand, with the price of each article, and the State, 
county, and district in which purchased; 

That every assistant commissary make monthly returns to the Com¬ 
missary-General of the articles purchased, the price, the name of the 
agent by whom the same were bought, and the persons to whom deliv¬ 
ered, or, if still on hand, at what place stored; 

That no money be advanced to any assistant commissary until he 
has made such returns and accounted for money received, rendering 
to the Commissary-General receipts from his agents for the money 
advanced to them; 

That every assistant commissary call upon his agents for monthly 
returns of their expenditures, without which returns no further sums 
be advanced to them, but that they be sued to account for the money 
in their hands; 

That the commissary-general of issues be, and he is hereby, directed 
to make monthly returns of the number of rations issued, to what per¬ 
sons, and at what place, to the Board of War, in order to take their 
direction as to the continuing such issues; 

January 7, 17S0. 

Resolved^ That the commissary-general of purchases be empowered 
to appoint an assistant, whose duty it shall be to remain at headquar¬ 
ters and receive the directions of the Commander in Chief and the 
Commissary-General; 

That the said assistants be allowed a salary at the rate of 10,000 dol¬ 
lars per annum, two rations a day, and forage for one horse, until the 
further order of Congress; 

That the coopers, butchers, packers, drovers, and superintendents 
of cattle be under the regulations and directions formerly established 
b}^ resolutions of Congress. 

January 7, 1780 .—A pound of hard or soft bread and one-quarter of a pound of 
Indian meal or a pound of flour and a pound of beef or fourteen ounces of pork to be 
the daily ration until further orders. ( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristoum.) 

S. Doc. 229-20 


306 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


January 17^ 1780. 

Resolved., That in addition to his pay of 4 dollars per day, the said 
Asa Worthington [employed as inspector of cattle in the Department 
of the Commissary-General from November 18, 1778, to January 15, 
1780] be allowed the sum of 3,940 dollars in compensation for his 
services and expenses to this date. . . . 

* * * 

Resolved^ That the commissary-general of purchases be allowed two 
clerks, to be by him appointed; 

That each of the said clerks be allowed the same salary as clerks of 
the board of treasury. 

January ^7, 1780. 

Resolved^ . . . That the issuing commissaries be respectively 

directed not to deliver rations, or parts of rations, to any hospital com¬ 
missary, unless on returns signed by him and countersigned by the 
principal physician or surgeon of the respective hospitals, specifying 
the names and stations of the persons for whom, and for what time, 
the rations are drawn; and that the hospital commissary be also required 
to annex to each return the receipts of the persons to whom he shall 
have delivered the provisions drawn on the last return; 

That the commissary-general of issues direct the form of the returns 
and receipts aforesaid. 

January 27, 1780 .—Issues of commissary stores to members of Congress under reso¬ 
lution of October 2, 1777, to be discontinued. 

February ^5, 1780. 

Resolved., That the several States be called on forthwith to procure 
their respective quotas of supplies for the ensuing campaign as fol¬ 
lows, to wit: 

N. Hampshire. —11,200 hundredweight of beef, 35,643 gallons of 
rum. 

MassaxihuseUs Bay. —56,000 hundredweight of beef, 12,126 bushels 
of salt, 195,628 gallons of rum. 

Rhode Island. —2,240 hundredweight of beef, 2,000 bushels of salt, 
18,621 gallons of rum. . . . 

Connecticut. —78,400 hundredweight of beef, 1,011 bushels of salt, 
68,558 gallons of rum. 

New Yorh.. —11,200 hundredweight of beef, 13,969 barrels of 
flour. ... 

New Jersey. —18,000 hundredweight of beef, 10,000 barrels of flour, 
3,758 bushels of salt. . . . 

Pennsylvania.— barrels of flour, 14,189 bushels of salt, 24,423 
gallons of rum. . . . 

Delaware. —3,055 barrels of flour. . . . 

Maryland. —40,000 hundredweight of beef, 20,000 barrels of 
flour. . . . 

Virginia.— hundredweight of beef, 1,278 barrels of flour, 
10,700 bushels of salt, 100,000 gallons of rum. . . . 

North Carolina. —49,875 hundredweight of beef, 15,000 barrels of 
flour, 4,500 bushels of salt. . . . 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 307 

South CaroliTia. —16,000 hundredweight of beef, 52,000 hundred¬ 
weight of rice, 5,000 bushels of salt, 12,000 gallons of rum. 

Resolved^ That pork be received from any State in lieu of beef, in 
quantities proportioned to the prices assigned to each. 

Resolved^ That Continental rum, or other spirits suitable for the 
Army, be received in lieu of West India rum, in proportion to the 
prices assigned to each. 

Resolved^ That the articles aforesaid be collected and deposited or 
delivered, at the risk of the respective States, in such places within 
each State, respectively, as the Commander in Chief shall iudge most 
convenient. . . . 

Provided^ That such of the said articles as shall be destroyed or 
taken by the enemy, after being deposited as aforesaid, or which shall 
be damaged by long keeping, shall be paid for by the United States. 

Resolved^ That the respective States be credited for all such com¬ 
modities, being of good and sufficient quality, as shall be received for 
the use of the United States, by persons appointed to inspect the same, 
at the prices following, to wit: 

Merchantable flour, per hundredweight gross, viz, 112 lb., dollars. 

Beef, best grass fed, which shall be delivered between the first day 
of eluly and the first of December, 5^ dollars per net hundredweight. 

Beef, best stall fed, which shall be delivered in the month of Decem¬ 
ber, dollars per net hundredweight; and for all that shall be delivered 
after the 1st ot January and before the 1st of July, 8 dollars per net 
hundredweight. 

Fresh pork, well fatted with corn or rice, 7 dollars per net hundred¬ 
weight; salted pork, per barrel, well fatted as aforesaid, containing 220 
lb. net, 22 dollars; salted beef, per barrel, containing 240 lb. net, 17^ 
dollars; . . . rice, well cleaned, per bushel, 1 dollar; white beans 

and peas, per bushel, dollars; wheat, per bushel, weighing 60 lb., 
dollars; spelts, ^ dollar per bushel; buckwheat, per bushel, f of a dol¬ 
lar; rough rice, f of a dollar per bushel; merchantable rice, 3 dollars 
per hundredweight; . . . West India rum, good proof. If dollars 

per gallon; best alum or rock salt, per bushel, 3 dollars; and other 
salt in proportion. 

Continental rum, good proof, 1 dollar; and other spirits, good proof, 
suitable for the Army, at prices in the usual proportions to the price 
of rye. 

Resolved^ That when any State shall have taken the necessaiy meas¬ 
ures for furnishing its quota of the said supplies and shall have given 
information thereof to Congress, such State be authorized to carry 
into effect the resolution of the 17th of December last for discontinuing 
purchase of such supplies by the commissaries ... within the 
same. 

* * * 

Resolved^ That it be recommended to the States to furnish such parts 
of their quotas of meat, in beef cattle, as the commissaries shall from 
time to time have occasion for, to supply the Army with fresh beef 
through the different seasons of the year. 

That only such quantities of beef and pork be salted, to be delivered 
in barrels, as shall be requested by the Commissary-General. 

That the hides and tallow of the beef cattle, delivered on foot, shall 
be received and credited at the same price as tbe beef. 

That the provisions furnished by authority of any State for the use 


308 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

of the Army since the first day of December last may be credited as 
part of the quota of supplies assigned to such State at the prices fixed 
in the foregoing resolutions, if such State desire it. 

July 10, 1780. 

Resolved, That all clothing arriving from Europe belonging to the 
United States be delivered at the port of arrival to the agents appointed 
by the Board of War to receive them, without passing through the 
hands of the Continental agents for prizes, any former order to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 


July 16, 1780. 

Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a sepa¬ 
rate army, ... to wit: 

* -x- * 

A commissary and his deputy of purchases or issues . . . i cov 

ered Ahorse wagon. 

A deputy commissary with a separate army ... 1 two-horse 

wagon or two bathorses. 


Resolved, That, in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bathorses by these regulations, there be issued . . . : 

To a . . . commissary-general of purchases, four [rations]; 
commissaiy-general of issues, two; brigade commissary, one; . . . 

A'ogust 2^, 1780. 

Whereas it is of the utmost importance effectually to prevent the 
destruction, waste, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public 
stores and provisions upon which the existence of the armies of these 
United States may depend, and no adequate provision hath been made 
for the just punishment of delinquents in the departments of the 
commissary-general of purchases, commissary-general of 
issues, clothier-general, . . . and hide department: Therefore, 

Resolved, That every person in any of the said departments intrusted 
with the care of provisions or military or hospital stores, or other 
property of these United States, who shall be convicted at a general 
court-martial, of having sold, without a proper order for that purpose, 
embezzled, or willfully misapplied, damaged, or spoiled any of the 
provisions, horses, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other mili¬ 
tary or hospital stores, or property belonging to the United States of 
America, shall suffer death or such ot&r punishment as shall be 
directed by a general court-martial, according to the nature and degree 
of the offense, at the discretion of such court; and every person in any 
of the said departments, intrusted as aforesaid, who shall be convicted 
at a general court-martial of having, through neglect, suffered any of 
the articles aforesaid to be wasted, spoiled, or damaged, shall suffer 
such punishment as the said court shall, in their discretion, direct, 
according to the degree of the offense. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


309 


August 1780. 

Resolved^ That no certificates issued in the . . . and commis- 

saiy’s departments after the 15th day of September next, afford any 
claim upon the United States, unless issued under the following regu¬ 
lations: 

1st. That they be for services performed or articles purchased within 
their respective departments. 

2dly. The . . . commissary-general shall themselves sign all 

such certificates as are issued in their respective departments 

8dly. All such certificates shall be given for specie or other current 
money equivalent. 

Ithly. All contracts or purchases made, for which certificates shall 
be given, shall be made for specie value. 

5thly. The articles so purchased shall be enumerated in such certifi¬ 
cates, with the rates and prices thereof; and the prices shall be reason¬ 
able when the present circumstances of our affairs are compared with 
the cost of articles of like quality, or services performed, in the year 
1775, or when compared with the allowance by Congress to the United 
States, as expressed in their resolution of the 25th of February last. 

Resolved^ That the certificates issued under and agreeable to the 
foregoing regulations shall bear an interest of six per cent per annum 
from the time stipulated for payment until paid. 

Resolved., That the . . . commissary-general be, and hereby are, 

strictly enjoined to make monthly returns of their purchases and pro¬ 
ceedings to the board of war, and make monthly returns, to wit, on 
the last day of every month, to the board of treasury, of all certificates 
so issued as aforesaid. 

August 1780. 

Resolved., That, all and singular, the creditors of these United States 
for supplies furnished the Army, or the transportation thereof, shall 
be entitled to receive the just value of the sums due them, respectively, 
in the bills of credit emitted pursuant to the act of the 18th of March 
last, the value of the sums due to be ascertained according to the cur¬ 
rent value of Continental bills of credit compared with specie at the 
time the money became due, at the place where the supplies were fur¬ 
nished; provided the same do not exceed the prices fixed for such sup¬ 
plies by the act of the 25th of February last, or a proportionate value 
for services done and articles furnished not mentioned in the said act; 
but if the nominal sum, in Continental currency, contracted for, when 
reduced to specie value as aforesaid, shall exceed the fixed prices afore¬ 
said, the creditor shall be entitled to receive the amount of the sup¬ 
plies furnished or service done at the said fixed or proportionate prices 
in the new bills aforesaid, or the nominal sum contracted for in Conti¬ 
nental bills of credit, and no more, at his election. 

That the accounts being duly examined and adjusted by the rule 
aforesaid, by commissioners that may be appointed agreeably to the 
resolution of the 12th of June last to settle the accounts of officers of 
the staff departments in the several States, or by the officer who made 
the contract or by whom the payment is to be made, the same shall be 
paid, or a certificate given for the sum justly due, certifying that the 
same has been duly examined and adjusted, agreeably to the directions 
aforesaid; and, if paid in the new bills, the interest on the said bills 
shall be computed to the date of such certificate. 


310 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That all debts due to the United States for monies received for their 
use, or otherwise, within any of these States, shall be paid according 
to the just value of the money when it was received or became due, 
to be ascertained as aforesaid. 

August £8, 1780. —“Great irregularity having prevailed in the issues of rum to the 
several brigades, for the future it is to be issued in the following proportion when 
there is any in the magazine: To a col. or It. col.-commandant, half a gallon per 
week; to a It. col. or maj., three pints per week; to a capt., two pints; and a subal¬ 
tern, a pint and a half per week. Rum is to be issued to the soldiery in rainy weather 
and on fatigue, but on no other occasions, except by special order from headquar¬ 
ters at a gill per man.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Tean Neck.) 

August 30, 1780. —“It was omitted in the order of the 28th instant regulating the 
issue of rum that the regimental surgeons are to draw the same quaiitity as a capt. 
and the mates as a subaltern.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Tean Neck.) 

September 8, 1780. 

Resohied^ That magazines of provisions . . . for 15,000 men for 

6 months be immediately provided and laid up for the southern army. 

That two-thirds of the flour and beef required from Maryland, by 
the resolution of the 25th of February last, be retained in that State 
for the above purpose, and stored at some safe and convenient places 
on or near navigable water. 

Resolved.^ That North Carolina furnish magazines of . . . flour 

and salted provisions to the utmost of their ability, to be stored at 
such convenient places as to the commanding officer of the southern 
department shall appear most eligible. 

September 1780. 

Ordered, That the committee appointed to confer with the directors 
of the Bank of Philadelphia apply to the said directors and request 
them to purchase 500 head of cattle, in lieu of part of the flour engaged 
by them to Congress, or to furnish the Commissary-General with suf¬ 
ficient money to purchase the said cattle, for which the Commissary- 
General is to be accountable, a duplicate receipt to be taken and lodged 
with the treasury board. 

Resolved, That for the supply of the Army the States of New Hamp¬ 
shire, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut be called upon to furnish 
weekly 1,000 head of cattle, in the following proportions, to wit: 


New Hampshire. 76 

Massachusetts Bay. 315 

Connecticut. 539 


1,000 

Ordered, That copies of the above resolution be forwarded by express 
to the said States, respectively, and that the President, in his letter, 
urge the necessity of an immediate and full compliance therewith, and 
the fatal consequences which must fall upon the Army in case of fail¬ 
ure in either. 

Resolved, That the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Dela¬ 
ware be requested, with all possible despatch, to furnish for an imme¬ 
diate supply to the Army the following number of cattle, to wit: 


New Jersey. 275 

Pennsylvania. 251 

Delaware. 530 


2,056 










THE SUBSISTENCE BEPAKTMENT. 


311 


That for defraying the expenses of forwarding the said cattle to the 
Army from the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, and 
Connecticut (for a weekly supply) warrants be drawn monthly upon 
the loan offices of the said States in favor of the Commissary-General 
until the further order of Congress, in money of the new emission, viz: 

On the loan office for the State of New Hampshire, for l,418f dol¬ 
lars; Massachusetts Bay, 7,186f dollars; Connecticut, 5,030|- dollars. 

And for defraying the expenses of forwarding, for an immediate 
supply, the cattle from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, 
that warrants be drawn on the loan offices of the said States in favor 
of the Commissary-General for the following sums in money of the 
new emission, viz: 

On the loan offices of the State of New Jersey, for 550 dollars; 
Pennsylvania, 2,819 dollars; Delaware, 1,236 dollars. 

And that the Commissary-General be authorized, in case any of the 
said States have not received their money of the new emission, to apply 
to the executive of the said States, who are requested to advance him, 
upon the said warrants, an equivalent in other money. 


Se2^te7nhe)' 21, 1780. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the State of Maiyland to send 
immediately to the main army 500 head of neat cattle, over and above 
the quantity of meat required by the resolution of the 25th of Feb¬ 
ruary last. ... 


Se2)teml)er 25, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . The commissary of issues shall be obliged to 
deliver to the Inspector-General, and assistant inspector with a separate 
army, an abstract, by brigades, of the rations actually issued, and of 
all issues to all separate corps, garrisons, and detachments. 

Septeinber 30, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the several officers [of the hospital depart¬ 
ment] shall each be entitled annually to draw clothing from the stores 
of the clothier-general, in the same manner and under the same regu¬ 
lations as are established for officers in the line by a resolution of 
Congress of the 25th of November, 1779. 

That the returns for clothing for officers in the medical staff (regi¬ 
mental surgeons and their mates, who are to draw with the regimental 
staff, excepted) be signed by the director, or one of the chief hospital 
physicians; and such clothing shall be delivered either by the clothier- 
general, or any subclothier in the State in which the officer to receive 
clothing shall reside, in the same manner as is provided in the cases of 
other staff' officers not taken from the line. 

October 15, 1780. —“The issuing commissaries are to deliver all their sheep and 
calve skins to the field commissary of military stores with the park of artillery, who 
will have them properly dressed for drumheads.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Totowa.) 

October 23, 1780. —“The ofllcers of the Army are to be furnished with two rations 
per day till further orders.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Totowa.) 


312 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

October 1780. 

Mesol/ved, That E. Blaine, commissary-general ‘of purchases, be 
directed to make accurate returns to Congress of the supplies fur¬ 
nished by each State since the last day of December last. 

Nommber 1780. 

Resolved.^ That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the several 
States to levy, in the proportions hereafter mentioned, a tax, equal in 
value to 6,000,000 of silver dollars, to be paid partly in the specific 
articles and at the prices hereafter enumerated, and the residue in gold 
or silver or bills of credit emitted pursuant to the resolution of the 
18th of March last. 


NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

2,500 barrels of beef, at ITi dollars per barrel. 

6.,000 hundredweight of beef, at 5i dollars per hundredweight. 

2,000 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 
20,124 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 
* * * 


MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

16,000 barrels of beef, at 17f dollars per barrel. 

2,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

29.250 hundredweight of beef, at 5f dollars per hundredweight. 

9.750 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

74,576 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 
13,000 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. 

* * * 

RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. 

900 barrels of beef, at I7f dollars per barrel. 

83 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

1,500 hundredweight of beef, at 5f dollars per hundredweight. 

500 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

20,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per 
gallon. . . . 

CONNECTICUT. 

15,000 barrels of beef, at I7f dollars per barrel. 

3,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

18.750 hundredweight of beef, at 5f dollars per hundredweight. 

6.250 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

25,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 
813 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

NEW YORK. 

2,800 barrels of beef, at 17f dollars per barrel. 

1,500 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

16,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

1,320 hundredweight of beef, at 5f dollars per hundredweight. 

441 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. . . . 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 


313 


NEW JERSEY. 

3,000 barrels of beef, at dollars per barrel. 

4,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

12,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

4,000 hundredweight of beef, at Si dollars per hundredweight. 
1,333 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

996 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. ... 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

3,000 barrels of beef, at 17i dollars per barrel. 

2,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

1.500 hundredweight of beef, at 5^ dollars per hundredweight. 

500 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

55,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

50,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 
13,028 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

DELAW'ARE. 

800 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

3,471 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

2,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 
500 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. 

MARYLAND. 

4,800 barrels of beef, at 17f dollars per barrel. 

5.500 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

20,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

9,000 hundredweight of beef, at 5f dollars per hundredweight. 

3,000 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 
17,007 gallons of West Indian rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 
4,000 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

VIRGINIA. 

9,000 barrels of beef, at 17f dollars per barrel. 

10,617 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

7,529 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

23,670 hundredweight of beef, at 5f dollars per hundredweight. 
7,890 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 
70,292 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 
6,673 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

3,000 barrels of beef, at 17i dollars per barrel. 

5,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

6,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

7.500 hundredweight of beef, at 5| dollars per hundredweight. 

2.500 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

991 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. 

21,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per 
gallon. . . . 


314 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENpiAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

Resolved^ That the articles aforesaid be delivered by the respective 
States on or before the several dates hereafter mentioned, at such place 
or places within the respective States as the Commander in Chief shall 
direct, viz: 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

2.500 barrels of beef, 3,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st da}^ 
of January, 1781. 

1.500 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

3,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

12,624 gallons of rum, on or before the 15th day of July, 1781. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

16,000 barrels of beef, 2,000 barrels of pork, 18,000 gallons of rum, 
2,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

9,000 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st day 
of March, 1781. 

18,000 gallons of rum, 2,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st 
day of Ma}", 1781. 

29,576 gallons of rum, 8,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 15th 
day of July, 1781. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

900 barrels of beef, 83 barrels of pork, 3,000 gallons of rum, on or 
before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

1,500 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st da}^ of March, 1781. 

3,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

12,508 gallons of rum, on or before the 15th dav of July, 1781. 

CONNECTICUT. 

15,000 barrels of beef, 3,500 barrels of pork, 4,000 gallons of rum, 
on or before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

2,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

4,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of Ma}^, 1781. 

15,000 gallons of rum, 813 bushels of salt, on or before the 15th of 
July, 1781. 

NEW YORK. 

2,800 barrels of beef, 1,500 barrels of pork, 4,000 barrels of flour, 
on or before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

2,000 barrels of flour, on or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

4,000 barrels of flour, on or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

6,000 barrels of flour, on or before the 15th day of Jul}^ 1781. 

NEW JERSEY. 

3,000 barrels of beef, 4,000 barrels of pork, 2,000 barrels of flour, 
on or before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

1,000 barrels of flour, on or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

2,000 barrels of flour, on or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

7,000 barrels of flour, 996 bushels of salt, on or before the 15th of 
July, 1781. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


315 


PENNSYLVANIA. 

3,000 barrels of beef, 2,000 barrels of pork, 0,000 barrels of flour, 
9,000 gallons of rum, 2,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st day 
of January, 1781. 

3,000 barrels of flour, 1,500 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 1st of March, 1781. 

6,000 barrels of flour, 9,000 gallons of rum, 2,000 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

40,000 barrels of flour, 27,500 gallons of rum, 8,028 bushels of salt, 
on or before the 15th of July, 1781. 

DELAWARE. 

800 barrels of pork, 500 barrels of flour, on or before the 1st day of 
January, 1781. 

250 barrels of flour, on or before the 1st da}^ of March, 1781. 

500 barrels of flour, on or before the tirst day of May, 1781. 

2,221 barrels of flour, 2,000 gallons of rum, 500 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 15th of July, 1781. 

MARYLAND. 

4,800 barrels of beef, 5,500 barrels of pork, 2,500 barrels of flour, 
800 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st of Janu¬ 
ary, 1781. 

1,250 barrels of flour, 400 gallons of rum, 500 bushels of salt, on or 
before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

2,500 barrels of flour, 800 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

13,750 barrels of Hour, 15,007 gallons of rum, 1,500 bushels of salt, 
on or before the 15th day of July, 1781. 

VIRGINIA. 

9,000 barrels of beef, 10,617 barrels of pork, 2,500 barrels of flour, 
11,000 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st day 
of January, 1781. 

1,250 barrels of flour, 5,500 gallons of rum, 500 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

2,500 barrels of flour, 11,000 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, 
on or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

1,279 barrels of flour, 42,792 gallons of rum, 4,173 bushels of salt, 
on or before the 15th of July, 1781. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

3,000 barrels of beef, 5,000 barrels of pork, 2,000 barrels of flour, 
4,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

1,000 barrels of flour, 2,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day 
of March, 1781. 

2,000 barrels of flour, 4,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day 
of May, 1781. 

1,000 barrels of flour, 11,000 gallons of rum, 991 bushels of salt, no 
or before the 15th of July, 1781. 


316 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolved^ That each barrel of beef contain 240 pounds net; each 
barrel of pork contain 220 pounds net; each barrel of flour contain 
224 pounds net. 

That the beef on foot shall be delivered at such times and places as 
the Commissary-General shall order. 

Resolved^ That a return be made on the days aforesaid, respectively, 
to the board of war, and duplicates to the Commissary-General. 

* * * 

Resolved^ That pork be received from any State in lieu of beef, or 
beef in lieu of pork, in quantities proportioned to the prices annexed 
to each by a resolution of Congress of the 25th of February last. 

That continental rum, or other spirits suitable for the Army, be 
received in lieu of West India rum, in proportion to the prices assigned 
to each by the said resolution. 

That indian meal, well sifted or bolted, be received in lieu of flour, 
in the proportion of one pound and a half of the former for one pound 
of the latter, to be issued to the Arni}'^ in the same proportion; pro¬ 
vided, that no indian meal be thus commutable after the first day of 
March, without the approbation of the officer commanding in the 
department. 

November 16^ 1780, 

A letter of the 10th, from Charles Stewart, commissary-general of 
issues, was read respecting the resignation and settlement of the 
account of James Gray, deputy commissary-general at Albany, and 
proposing that James Gamble, who is now in the department with the 
grand army, may be appointed to conduct the business heretofore 
under the charge of Mr. Gray, until the settlement of Mr. Gray’s 
accounts; whereupon. 

Resolved^ That Congress approve of the said proposal; that the 
said commissarj^-general be directed to carry the same into effect, and 
Mr. Gray settle his accounts without loss of time. 

November ^5, 1780. 

Resolved^ . . . That the commissary-general of purchases be 

directed to form a sufficient magazine of provisions at Carlisle for the 
supply of the post. 

November 30^ 1780. 

Resolved., That there be a commissary-general of purchases, whose 
duty shall be to purchase provisions under the direction of Congress, 
the Commander in Chief, or board of war; to call upon the principal 
State agents or commissioners for such supplies as their respective 
legislatures shall make provision for, and to keep up a regular corre¬ 
spondence with them, to the end that their prospects of furnishing 
such supplies may be fully known, of which correspondence he shall 
keep a fair and correct register, as well as of every other official trans¬ 
action; to direct the quantities and species of provisions to be stored 
in the magazines of the several States, under the orders of the Com¬ 
mander in Chief, and cause the same to be forwarded to the Army, as 
occasion may require; for which purpose he is hereby empowered to 
call on the Quartermaster-General and the deputy quartermasters for 
the means of transportation; to make monthly returns to the Com- 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTME^^T. 


317 


mander in Chief and board of war of all persons employed by him, 
specifying for what time and on what terms; and of all provisions 
received in each month, from whom, from what State, and the quan¬ 
tities delivered to the issuing commissaries, their names, and at what 
posts; also of all provisions remaining on hand, at what magazines 
and in whose care; the returns to be made up to the last day of each 
month and forwarded as soon after as may be; to cause all his accounts 
with the United States to be closed annually, on the 1st day of Janu¬ 
ary, and laid before the board of treasury for settlement by the 1st 
day of March ensuing. 

That there be a deputy commissary of purchases for the southern 
army, appointed by the Commissary-General, whose duty shall be the 
same with respect to that army as that of the Commissary-General with 
the main army; he shall make his returns to the commanding officer 
of the southern army, and to the Commissary-General, to whom he 
shall be responsible. 

The Commissary-General and deputy commissary shall each appoint 
1 assistant commissary, 1 superintendent of live stock, 2 clerks, and as 
many butchers, coopers, drovers, and laborers as may be necessary for 
conducting the business of the department, and shall have power to fix 
the pay of the butchers, coopers, drovers, and laborers, subject to the 
control of the board of war. 

That the pay of the several officers in the department be in the bills 
emitted in pursuance of the resolution of the 18th day of March last, 
as follows: 

The Commissary-General 177 dollars per month, 3 rations for him¬ 
self and servants, and forage for 2 horses; deputy commissary 125 
dollars per month, 2 rations for himself and servant, and foraofe for 2 
horses. 

Assistant commissaries 75 dollars per month, 2 rations and forage for 
1 horse. 

Superintendent of live stock 50 dollars per month, 1 ration and forage 
for 1 horse. 

Clerks 40 per month and 1 ration. 

Besolved^ That no officer appointed under the foregoing regulations 
be entitled to draw any pay unless he produce a certificate of his hav¬ 
ing taken the oaths prescribed by the resolution of February 3rd, 
1778; 

Resolved^ That Ephraim Blaine, esq., be continued commissary- 
general of purchases; 

That it be recommended to the several States immediately to inform 
the Commissary-General and deputy commissary of the names of their 
principal agents or commissioners, respectively, for supplying the 
Army, and to oblige them to give information, from time to time, to 
the Commissary-General or the deputy commissary with the southern 
army, as the case may be, of their prospects, and how far they shall 
be able to comply with their requisitions; 

That the live stock to be furnished by the several States be deliv¬ 
ered to such storekeepers within each State, at such times and in such 
quantities as the Commissary-General or deputy commissary shall 
direct, under the regulations contained in the act of Congress of the 
15th of July last for the delivery of all other public property; 

That the storekeepers appointed by the deputy quartermasters be 
subject to the orders of the Commissary-General, to whom they are 


818 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


to make monthly returns of all their receipts and deliveries, as far as 
respects his departments, and in such manner as he shall direct; 

That all the resolutions of Congress heretofore made respecting the 
department of the commissary-general of purchases be, and they are 
hereby, repealed. 

Fehruary 17^ 1781. 

Resolved., That the principal superintendent of bakers in the Army 
of the United States receive, in bills of the new emission 50 dollars per 
month and two rations a day, and forage for one horse; 

That the superintendent of bakers make regular monthly returns to 
the commissary-general of issues, and that he receive monies, from 
time to time, by warrants from the Commander in Chief out of the 
military chest, for payment of wages and carrying on the business of 
his department. 

That Mr. Christopher Ludwick, who has acted with great industry 
and integrity in the character of principal superintendent of bakers, 
be, and is hereby, continued in that employment, and that he be 
empowered to hire or enlist any number of bakers, not exceeding 30, 
on such terms as the board of war shall think proper; 

That Mr. Christopher Ludwick receive as a compensation for all 
past services, 1,000 dollars in bills of the new emission. 

Fehruary 20, 1781. 

Resolved, That the board of war be, and hereby are, directed to fur¬ 
nish the southern army with 10,000 suits of clothes, complete; . . . 

8,000 knapsacks, 6,000 haversacks, 8,000 canteens, 700 camp kettles, 
8,000 blankets. . . . 

March 27, 1781. —Congress accepted resignation of J. Wilkinson, clothier-general. 

April 17, 1781. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general, before he enters into office, shall 
give bond in such sum as the board of treasury shall think sufficient, 
with two or more sufficient sureties, for the due performance of his 
office, which bond shall be lodged in the treasury office. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a clothier-general; and the 
ballots being taken, 

Mr. John Moylan was elected, having been previously, nominated 
by Mr. Burke. 

April 19, 1781. 

Whereas differences have arisen between . . . commissaries 

and persons claiming to be creditors of the United States for articles 
furnished by or taken from them and for services performed by them, 
for which no vouchers have been given or for which the vouchers may 
be lost, or, having vouchers, it is doubtful whether the account can be 
adjusted in either of the departments of the . . . Commissary- 

General; to remedy which. 

Resolved, That every such claim as aforesaid which shall have been 
submitted to the inspection of the Continental commissioners for audit¬ 
ing and adjusting accounts and by them certified shall, by the . . . 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 


319 


commissary, be allowed and may be paid, or certificates given for the 
same, in like manner as is directed in the act of Congress of the 26th 
of August, 1780. 

April 1781. 

Resolved., That the superintendent of tinance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to remove from office or employment, for incapacity, neg¬ 
ligence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior, such persons, not immedi¬ 
ately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, as are or 
may be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the 
expenditure of the public supplies, stores, and other property; . . . 

and such of the said persons as are or may be in his judgment unnec¬ 
essary, reporting to such authority, board, minister, or officer, to whom 
it may belong to supply the vacancy, the respective names of the per¬ 
sons so removed. 

That he be authorized to suspend from office or employment, for 
similar causes, persons officially employed and entrusted as aforesaid 
immediately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason of suspension. 

Provided, that in all cases where any of the persons aforesaid are or 
may be amenable to the law martial, the superintendent, be and he is 
hereby, authorized and directed, if he shall deem it most expedient 
for the public service, to put them in arrest by order in writing and 
to apply to the officer whose duty it may be to order a court-martial, 
and such officer is hereby directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingly. 

That in every case of suspension all pay and emoluments cease from 
the date thereof, unless the person suspended be, upon trial, acquitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place when it may be necessary by a temporary appointment, to con¬ 
tinue until the person suspended be restored or dismissed. 

That the aforesaid powers shall not be construed to interfere with 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Army, or those who may be duly entrusted with money for secret 
service by Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or com¬ 
manding officer of a separate department. 

That the powers aforesaid be exercised during the pleasure of Con¬ 
gress, but not to extend beyond the duration of the war. 

May 5,1781 .—“The honorable the Congress having by their resolve of the 17th of 
April last appointed John Moylan, esq., clothier-general of the Army,’’ etc. ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, New Windsor.) 

June 18, 1781. 

Resolved, That all State purchases of clothing on Continental account 
and all State appointments and regulations in the clothing department 
on Continental account be abolished on the first day of September; at 
or before which time the sub and agent clothiers are to deliver to the 
clothier-general or his order all clothing procured at Continental 
expense which they may then have on hand, taking his receipt therefor, 
a duplicate whereof to be transmitted to the treasury office. 

* * •: 5 - 

Resolved, That the clothier-general in the month of June, annually, 
make and deliver in to the board of war an estimate of clothing and 
disbursements for clothing for a year from the first day of November, 


320 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

then next, that Congress may be enabled to furnish the proper sums 
and adopt the necessary measures for procuring the same. 

That all noncommissioned officers and soldiers who are or may 
hereafter be enlisted during the war be annually furnished with one 
regimental coat, full made; one cloth vest; one pair of cloth breeches; 
one pair of woolen overalls; two pair of woolen hose; two pair of 
woolen socks; one felt hat or leather cap; four shirts; two pair of 
linen overalls; four pair of strong shoes; one blanket; one rifle shirt, 
and one pair of woolen gloves; also, one pair of shoe buckles and one 
stock clasp every two years. 

The dragoons to receive two pair of boots and one pair of spurs, 
instead of the shoes and buckles, annually; also a horseman’s cloak 
every two years. 

That the Commander in Chief and the commanding general in a 
separate department, respectively, be, and hereby are, authorized to 
direct what clothing shall, from time to time, be dealt out to the artifi¬ 
cers and wagoners, having regard to the nature of their service and 
the terms of their contract, and time for which they are engaged. 

That summer clothing be ready to be issued on the 15th day of April 
annually, and the winter clothing on the first day of November follow¬ 
ing, and be delivered at such time as the Commander in Chief or com¬ 
manding general in a separate department shall direct. 

That the clothier-general deal out the clothing regimentally, and 
keep regular accounts against the respective regimental clothiers, 
taking particular care to have the clothing equally and impartially 
distributed when it is found incompetent for the whole Army. 

That previous to the day of general issue the regimental clothiers 
settle their accounts with the clothier-general, and receive his certifi¬ 
cates of the arrearages of clothing due to their respective regiments, 
and present him with a return of the number of men for whom cloth¬ 
ing is to be drawn on the day of general issue; the said return to be. 
examined and certified by the officer commanding their respective 
regiments, and signed by the brigadier or officer commanding the 
brigade. 

That all extra issues to detachments, or for accidental loss of cloth¬ 
ing, be by certificate of the commanding officer of the regiment or 
detachment to which the noncommissioned officers or soldiers in whose 
behalf such application is made shall belpng; the said certificate being 
approved and signed by the Commander in Chief or commanding gen¬ 
eral of a separate army. 

That all issues of clothing be made from the magazines or places of 
general issue with the Army; and, to avoid the necessity of detached 
issues, the officers commanding parties or detachments are to be 
answerable that they are supplied, so far as may be, from the maga¬ 
zines or stores at camp previous to their leaving the army to wh?ch 
they belong. 

That no articles of clothing be issued by the clothier-general, his 
deputies or assistants, but by return and certificates made and approved 
as aforesaid. 

That no noncommissioned officer or soldier who is not engaged dur¬ 
ing the war, or for the term at least of one year, be furnished with 
any article of clothing. 

That the clothier-general from time to time notify the Paymaster- 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


321 


General of all surplusages of elotliin^^, specifying the corps to which 
they belong, that stoppages be made therefor. 

That he make return to the board of war of all clothing on hand, 
and persons employed in the department, with the wages given to each, 
regularly, once in every two months. 

That the Quartermaster-General and his deputies in the several States 
shall, on the requisitions of the clothier-general, furnish the means of 
transportation of all articles of clothing from the places where imported, 
received, or purchased to the places of deposit; and a careful wagon 
master or conductor to be appointed by the Quartermaster-General 
or some of his deputies, shall proceed with the clothing, who shall be 
answerable for all deficiencies on the road, unless the}^ shall be able to 
show that the same happened by unavoidable accidents and not through 
their misconduct or want of attention. 

^ That in case of injuries or deficiencies happening in the transporta¬ 
tion of clothing the clothier stationed at the magazine or place of 
deposit shall represent the matter to the nearest commanding officer 
of the troops of the United States, that the wagon master or conductor 
having had charge of the clothing so damaged or deficient may be 
tried by a court-martial, and, if found guilty, compelled to restore the 
goods lost, or their value, or make satisfaction for damages accrued 
through his negligence or mismanagement, or be punished according 
to the nature of the offence by judgment of the court-martial. 

That the clothier-general have the management, direction, and super¬ 
intendence of hides, subject to the orders of the board of war, with full 
power to call for proper returns from such persons as have heretofore 
had the management of hides. 

That all commissaries make monthly returns to the clothier-general 
of the hides on hand, and that the Commissary-General make monthly 
returns to him of all the live cattle delivered over to the commissaries 
of the Army. 

That the Quartermaster-General or his deputy, on the application of 
the clothier-general, or either of his deputies, furnish wagons for 
transporting raw or manufactured hides to such places as they shall 
direct. 

That the clothier-general, with the concurrence of the superintendent 
of finance, be authorized to appoint such number of persons to transact 
the business of the clothing department, during the present campaign, 
as they may, from time to time, find necessary, and to ascertain their 
wages. 

That the clothier-general make monthly returns to the Commander 
in Chief. 

That all resolutions heretofore passed respecting the clothing and 
hide departments inconsistent with this arrangement and the resolutions 
now passed be, and they are hereby, repealed. 

June 28, 1781. —“The commissary-general of issues will take effectual measures to 
procure a supply of hard bread for the Army. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, Peekskill.) 

July 10, 1781} 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, either by himself or such person or persons as he shall, 


^ Under this resolution the commissariat system of subsisting the Army was dig- 
continued and the method of contracts for rations adopted in its stead. 

8. Doc. 229-21 




322 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


from time to time, appoint for the purpose, to procure on contract all 
necessary supplies for the use of the Army or armies of the United 
States, . . . and also the transportation thereof; . . . 

July 15, 17Sl—‘'As it has been represented to the Commander in Chief that the 
quantity of fresh meat lately ordered to be drawn by the troops will not keeji during 
this hot season, he desires the Commissary-General may cause two days’ allowance 
of salt beef to be issued to every regiment, which is to be put into the care of the 
regimental quartermaster, not to be delivered to the troops but by special order of 
the commanding officers of brigades, and that the troops be served daily with fresh 
beef.” {Orders, General Headquarters, near Dobh's Ferry.) 


Septemher 1781. 


Resolved^ That all the clothing- . . . shipped in pursuance of the 

order of the Honorable John Laurens, special minister to the Court 
of Versailles, for the use of the United States, be, upon its arrival, 
delivered to the order of the board of war, who are hereby empow¬ 
ered and directed to take charge and direction of the same. 

September 25, 17SI. —“ The several issuing commissaries will be particularly cyreful 
in preserving all the sheepskins for the use of the artillery. They will be delivered 
on application to Mr. Thomas Jones, deputy field commissary of military stores.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, WUllamsburgh.) 

October 2, 1781. —“ Salt provision is not to be issued without a general order but in 
cases of necessity.” {Orders, Genered Headquarters, before York.) 

October 23, 1781. —“The biscuit taken from the enemy is not to be issued without 
a general order.” {Orders, General Headquarters, near York.) 

October 30, 1781. —“The troops and British prisoners, except those in the hospital, 
to draw five days’ allowance of corn beef. The commissary to issue with the beef 
half the quantity of salt allowed to fresh beef.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
near York.) 


January 1, 1782. —“Contracts having been made for supplying troops of the United 
States at various posts with provisions, the officers are in the future not to draw any 
rations on public account, but will be paid in money at the close of each month the 
amount the several rations respectively allowed them by Congress, but for their greater 
convenience it is agreed that the contractors shall supply them with the whole or 
so many of the rations allowed as they may think proper to draw for, and the Pay¬ 
master-General or his deputy will at the close of every month settle with the con¬ 
tractors, and after paying them for such articles as the officers have drawn, pay each 



{Orders, General 


January 10^ 1782. 


Resolved, . . . The Inspector-General, or inspector of a sepa¬ 
rate army, shall be authorized to call on the . . . clothier-gen¬ 

eral, ... or their deputies, for returns of the articles which have 
been issued from and returned to their several departments by each 
corps, . . . 


Rehruary 11, 1782. 


Resolved, That the clothier-general be, and he is hereby, directed to 
agree for and purchase of the State of Massachusetts all such clothing 
as may have been, or shall be, provided by that State, before the open¬ 
ing of the ensuing campaign; and that he take charge of the said 
clothing, and that the amount thereof be passed by the United States 
to the credit of the said State on the requisitions previous to the 30th 
day of October, 1781. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


323 


Ajyrll 10, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the clothier-general receive his instructions 

from the War Office, and that the distribution of clothing for the Army 
be made under the Secretary at War’s directions. 


April 22, 1782. 

Resolved, That from and after the first day of May*next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow¬ 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster’s Department, . . , be, and they are 

hereby, repealed; that from and after the first day of iVIav next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations . . . 

affixed to their several ranks, viz: 

* * * 

Deputy clothier with the Army, 1 ratioji per day; dollars per 
month. 


Ajrrll 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the supernumerary junior lieutenants, 

be 3 ’ond the number of ten in each regiment of infantiy, be reduced; 
. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the 

staft' departments, with the approbation of the heacls of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective 
ranks in the Army, and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence 
belonging to their rank in the line, as a compensation for their 
respective services in the staff, without any other allowance whatso¬ 
ever; . . . 


ALay 7, 1782. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and hereby is, 
authorized to appoint an inspector for the main and southern army, 
to take care that the contracts for suppl^dng rations be duly executed 
by the contractors; that the said inspectors shall also be, and they are 
hereby, fully empowered and directed to attend to the expenditures 
of public property in the several departments of the Army, and report 
any fraud, neglect of dut}^ or other misconduct by which the public 
property is wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated, so that the 
party charged therewith may be tried by court-martial on such charges 
exhibited against him b}^ either of the said inspectors; and that neither 
the said inspectors nor the said contractors, or their property, be 
liable to arrest or subject to martial law, except by the express order 
of the Commander in Chief, or commander of the army to which the 
inspectors respectively shall be appointed, any resolution or act of 
Congress heretofore made notwithstanding; 

That the pay to each inspector be 166f dollars per month, in full of 
all allowances; 

That each inspector, when appointed, shall take an oath for the faith¬ 
ful and impartial execution of the trust reposed in him as inspector of 
the contracts of the Army. 


324 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


June 178^2. 

Besolved^ That the Secretaiy at War institute an immediate enquiry 
into the reasons which have delayed the arrival of clothing and other 
necessaries which have already been provided and sent on to the south 
ern army; and that he take every step in his power to discover the 
causes of delay, embezzlement, and other circumstances which have 
so frequently arrested the supplies of the southern army, and report 
thereon to Cong;'ess. 

Ordered^ That the superintendent of finance report to Congress the 
causes which have prevented the southern arni}^ being supplied by 
contracts. 

Augiist 5, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the Secretary at War and superintendent 

of finance take order that proper magazines be laid up in the said fort 
[Fort Pitt], which may enable the commanding officer, in case the said 
fort should be invested by the enemy, to render it tenable until 
relieved. 

October 9, 1182 .—“The honorable the superintendent of finance [has] by the fol¬ 
lowing commission [^omitted^ appointed Ezekiel Cornell, esq., inspector for the main 
army for the purpose therein mentioned” [to take care that the contracts for sup¬ 
plying rations be truly executed]. {Orders, General Headquarters, Verplank's Point.) 

October 15, 1782 .—“The Commander in Chief directs the Army to be informed 
that, in consequence of instructions from the superintendent of tinance, the Honor¬ 
able Mr. Cornell hath entered into a contract with IVIessrs. Wadsworth & Carter to 
supply the main army, the garrison at West Point, and its dependencies with rations 
of provisions from the 16th instant until the last day of December next, inclusive. 
All applications for provisions are therefore to be made to them or their agents; and 
no receipts or vouchers for the delivery of provisions are to be given except to them 
or persons issuing under their authority. The aforesaid contractors, Wadsworth & 
Carter, are to have the use of all commissary’s storehouses, scales, and weights 
belonging to the public in the department, they taking care that the property of the 
former contractors be as little injured thereby as possible.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, VerplanPs Point.) 


October 20, 1782. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General be allowed 15 rations per 
day; 

That the deputy quartermaster with the southern army ))0 allowed 
12 rations per day; 

That all assistants in the QuartermasteFs Department be allowed, 
each of them, two rations per day; 

That the wagon master, commissary of forage for the main army, 
and commissary of forage for the southern army be each allowed five 
rations per da}^; 

That the deputy wagon master with the southern army be allowed 
tour rations per ffiiy; 

That the wagon conductors be each of them allowed a ration and a 
half per day; 

That the directors of the artificers be allowed, each of them, throe 
rations per day, and the subdirectors, each of them, two rations per 
day; 

And that the foregoing rations shall be inclusive of what the several 
officers aforesaid may be entitled to draw in the line of the Army, 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


825 


JSfove^nher 12^ 178^2. 

Resolved^ That the geographer to the main army and the geographer 
to the southern department be each of them allowed . . . three 

rations per day, . . . [and] a servant, for Avhom they shall be enti¬ 

tled to draw one ration per day and the clothing allowed for a private 
soldier; 

That the assistant geographers . . . be allowed . . . one 

ration per day, . 

ISovemher SG^ 1782 .—“ The Commander in Chief Iuih the pleasure of annoimeing 
that a delivery of two shirts per man will shortly be made to the whole Army.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgti.) 

December 2, 1782 .— “The abstracts of the subsistence of the Army, up to the time 
the contractor settled with the officers (whose certificate is then to be taken), are to 
be sent to the deputy paymaster at the Forge, near Murderer’s Creek, as soon as 
possible.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

December 23, 1782. —“The difficulty of transportation having delayed a considerable 
proportion of the shirts, which are ready-made in Philadelphia and which may now 
soon be expected, those which have arrived are to be drawn for by lot.” — {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Newburgh .) 

December 28, 1782. —“Allowance of subsistence money to be su])plied the officers 
in lieu of rations for themselves and servants, without arms, according to an act of 
Congress of the 3d December, 1782.” 


Different grades and officers. 

Daily 
number 
of ra¬ 
tions. 

Number 
of serv¬ 
ants 
without 
arms. 

Monthly 
allow¬ 
ance in 
lieu of 
rations. 

Major-general. 

15 

12 

4 

S7G 

Brigadier. 

4 

(vt 

Lt. colonel. 

5 

1 

24 

Majors, brigade majors, and a. d. c., not of the line. 

4 

1 

20 

Captains. 

3 

1 

12 

Subaltern. 

2 

1 

8 

Surgeon’s mate. 

2 

1 

8 

(Quartermaster-General. 

15 

t) 

4 

7G 

Deputy q. m. genl. with the main army. 

2 

32 

Deputy q. m. genl. with the southern army. 

12 

4 

G4 

Assistant quartermasters. 

2 

4 

8 

Adjutant-General. 

12 

4 

G4 

Assistants to the Adjt. Getil... 

4 

1 

20 

Deputy adjutant-general.. 

G 

«) 

32 

CInmniissary of prisons. 

G 

1 

28 

Deputy enmsy prisons, sraitheru army... 

G 

1 

28 

Intend puts of prisfmers... 

4 

1 

IG 

.1 n d ge-a d voea t es... 

G 

1 

28 

Deputy jodge-adyoeate southern army. 

G 

1 

28 

Wagon master . . 

5 

1 

24 

Deputy wagon nta^^fer ponthern army .. _______ 

4 

1 

20 

I)ejinty payniast.er main armv... 

3 

1 

IG 

,«!nnt.ViprTi Jirmy . . ... 

G 

1 

28 

Fid'i ry Tnilitpry stpros... 

2 

1 

12 


2 

1 

12 

r’onduet''*rs and eierirs ......... 

U 

G 


3 


12 

DAiviifif plntViiPr with fVtP Armv ... 

2 


8 


1 


4 

Geographers to the main and southern armies, each. 

trpntrrfinhpre: ... 

3 

1 


IG 

4 

P/Am m rv fV^ruP'P .-... 

5 

1 

24 


4 

1 

20 

r»/^tr»YniccjQrxr millt«rv Wpwt. . 

2 


8 




( Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

January 8 , Duplicate accounts of the subsistence of departments and gen¬ 

eral officers’ family, to be signed by the heads of the departments and general 
•officers.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

February 25, 1783. —‘ ‘ The contractors for the Army having desired that, agreeably to 
<;ontract, a person might be appointed to inspect the cattle destined for the Army, 





















































326 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFE OF U. S. ARMY. 


Henry Wykoff, esq., of Fishkill, is appointed for that purpose until the pleasure of 
the superintendent of finance shall be known.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Newburgh.) 

March 19,1783. —“The contractors are requested to have an ample supply of vine¬ 
gar, that the issue of that article may be regular as soon as the warm weather com¬ 
menced” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

March24,1783. —“It is recommended to the troops to make regimental gardens for 
the purpose of raising greens and vegetables for their own use, and, in order to collect 
a sufficient quantity of seeds, commanding officers of regiments will give passes to as 
many trusty soldiers as they may judge necessary to go into the country and be 
absent not exceeding ten days. The General hopes he shall see a suitable attention 
bestowed on an article which will contribute so much to the comfort and health of 
the troops. He even flatters himself it will become a matter of amusement and of 
emulation. The Quartermaster-General is also desired to advertise in the newspapers, 
giving proper invitation and encouragement to those who may be disposed to sender 
bring in garden seeds of all kinds to his office, which will be equitably divided and 
faithfully applied to the soldiery.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

April 12, 1783. —“Application is to be made to the assistant clothier-general for 
another distribution of shirts; also, returns to be given in to him of the men who have 
not received hats for the last year.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

Ajiril 17, 1783. 

Ilesolmd, That immediate measures be taken for the sale of . . 

all such articles in the several military departments as may not be nec¬ 
essary for the use of the Army, previous to its reduction, or for the 
formation of magazines on a peace establishment. 

January 2If,, 178J 

Besolved, That the principals in the several departments of . . . 

clothier, ... be, and they are hereby, ordered to transmit, as 
soon as may be, to the War Office, to be laid before Congress, exact 
returns of all the stores in their respective departments, specifying 
the cpiantity and quality of each article, where deposited, in whose care, 
and in what manner secured. 

February 23, 1785. 

Resolved, That the . . . commissary of purchases, commissary 

of issues, ... be required, without delay, to forward to the 
board of treasury or to the Comptroller a list of their respective dep¬ 
uties who have been dul}^ authorized to'issue certificates. 

September 6, 1786. 

Ordered, That the Secretary at War, as soon as may be, cause to be 
made and transmitted to Congress an exact return of all . . . 

wagons, tents . . . and public stores, or property of every descrip¬ 

tion, the custod}" of which is charged on the Department of War, 
distinguishing the quantity or number, quality, and kind of each, and 
the several places of their deposits; and that he transmit a like return 
on the first Monday in January and the first Monday in July annually. 


October 2, 1788. 

The committee, consisting of Mr. Ploward, Mr. Few, Mr. Dayton, 
Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Carrington, appointed to make full inquiry into 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


327 


the proceedings in the Department of War, beg leave to report and to 
present to the view of Congress a summary statement of the various 
branches of the Department of War. 

* * * 


2d. -OF THE CEOTIIING FOR THE TROOPS. 

The .roops enlisted in 1785 have already received two complete suits, 
and most of them have one year’s clothing, complete, due to them. 

Provision was made for the 3d year’s clothing, but the Secretary at 
War has been constrained to apply it for the recruits; otherwise they 
could not have been enlisted, good clothing being the greatest induce¬ 
ment for a recruit to enlist into the service. 

The board of treasury have advertised for a contract for clothing, 
and hope to succeed, in which case the old soldiers who have reen¬ 
listed will receive their third suit in October next. Those of this 
description who will be discharged will probably prefer a compensa¬ 
tion in money to the clothing. 

The troops on the frontiers enlisted in 1786 have also received two 
suits of clothing, and will, if the board of treasury succeed in their 
contract, duly receive their third suit. 

The two companies of artillery raised in Massachusetts have received 
only one year’s clothing; they will probably receive their second suit 
in the ensuing October. 

* -x- * 


6Tir.—OF THE MODE IN WHICH THE TROOPS ARE FURNISHED AVTTH 

PROVISIONS. 


In the year 1785 Mr. James O’Hara made a contract with the board 
of treasury for furnishing the several posts on the frontiers with 
rations, which were to consist of— 

One pound of beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork. 

One pound of bread or flour. 

One gill of common rum. 

One quart of salt, 1 

Two quarts of vinegar, 

Two pounds ot soap. 

One pound of candles, J 

The prices of which at the several posts where the troops were 
actually stationed were as follows: 

At Fort Pitt, ) 

M’lntosh, > 13i ninetieths of a dollar. 

Harmar, ) 

The contract was performed tolerably well; some complaints were 
made respecting particular posts, but the defects were, perhaps, insepa¬ 
rably connected with the state of the frontiers and of public aflairs. 

In 1786 a contract was formed by the board of treasury for the same 
objects with Messrs. Turnbull, Marmie & Co., the articles of the ration 
to consist of the same as the preceding, and the prices thereof. 

At Fort Pitt, lOi ninetieths of a dollar. 

M’lntosh, I 
Harmar, j 

There Avere some stipulations for payment by warrants on the State 


828 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


of Pennsylvania, which were paid in the paper currency by the said 
State when greatly depreciated. This contract was ill executed, and 
the mode of payment was assigned by the contractors as the reason. 

1787, a contract was formed by the board of treasury with Mr. 
James O'Hara at the prices herein stated: 

Fort Pitt, 9i ninetieths of a dollar. 

MTntosh, lOi ditto. 

Harmar, Hi ditto. 

Rapids of the Ohio, 13i ninetieths of a dollar. 

Venango, 14 ditto. 

This contract was better executed than any of the former. The pay¬ 
ments were generally made in warrants on New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
and Maryland. 

A new contract has been formed, to take effect from the 1st of July 
of the present 3 "ear to the end of the year 1789, by Messrs. Elliot and 
Williams, of Maryland, at the following prices; 

The terms of payment, by warrants on Maryland. 

Fort Pitt, 7 ninetieths of a dollar. 

MTntosh, the same. 

Harmar, the same. 

Rapids of the Ohio, 7i ninetieths of a dollar. 

Post Vincennes, 16 ditto. 

Venango, 9 ditto. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of Ajjril 30^ 1790 {1 Stats., 119). 

AN ACT for regulating the military establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That every noncommissioned officer, private, and musician 
aforesaid shall receive annually the following articles of uniform 
clothing: One hat or helmet, one coat, one vest, two pair of woolen 
and two pair of linen overalls, four pair of shoes, four shirts, two pair 
of socks, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and one pair of buckles. 

Sec. 10. That every noncommissioned officer, private, and musician 
aforesaid shall receive daily the following rations of provisions, or the 
value thereof: One pound of beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork, 
one pound of bread or flour, half a gill of rum, brandy, or whiskey, or 
the value thereof at the contract price when the same shall become 
due, and at the rate of one quart of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two 
pounds of soap, and one pound of candles to every hundred rations. 

* * * 


Act of May 8, 1792 {1 Stats., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That all purchases and contracts for supplying the Army 
with provisions, clothing, . . . and all other supplies or articles 

for the use of the Department of War be made by or under the direc¬ 
tion of the Treasury Department. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


329 


Act of June 7, 1791^ {1 Stats,, 390). 

AN ACT ill addition to the “Act for making further and more effectual jmivision 
for the protection of the frontiers of the United States.” 

* -X- -X- 

Sec. 3. That to such of the troops as are or may bo employed on 
the frontiers, and under such special circumstances as in the opinion 
of the President of the United States may require an augmentation of 
some parts of their rations, the President be authorized to direct such 
augmentation as he may judge necessary, not exceeding four ounces of 
beef, two ounces of Hour, and half a gill of rum or whiskey in addition 
to each ration, and half a pint of salt to one hundred rations. 

Act of January 2, 1795 {1 Stats., Jf8). 

AN ACT to regulate the pay of the noncommissioned ofiicers, musicians, and jiri- 
vates of the militia of the United States, when called into actual service, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. (). That to those in the military service of the United States, 
who are, or shall be employed on the western frontiers, there shall be 
allowed, during the time of their being so employed, two ounces of 
Hour or liread, and two ounces of beef or pork, in addition to each of 
their rations, and half a pint of salt, in addition to every hundred of 
their rations. 


Act of FJ)Tuary 23, 1795 {1 Stats., JJ9). 

AN ACT to establish the office of Purveyor of Public Supplies.^ 

Sec. 1. That there shall be in the Department of the Treasury an 
officer to be denominated “Purveyor of Pulilic Supplies,” whose duty 
it shall be, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, to conduct the procuring and providing of all . . . 

provisions, clothing, . . . and generally all articles of supply 

requisite for the service of the United States. . . . 

-X- -x- * 


Act of Afarch 3, 1795 (1 Stats., iSO). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military establishment of the United 
States, and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed on that subject. 

* * -x- ' 

Sec. 7. That every noncommissioned officer, private, or musician of 
the artillery and infantry shall receive, annually, the following arti¬ 
cles of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat or helmet, one coat, one vest, 
two pair of woolen and two pair of linen overalls, four pair of shoes, 
four shirts, two pair of socks, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and 
one pair of buckles. And that there be furnished to the cavalry and 
riflemen such clothing as shall be most suitable and best adapted to the 
nature of the service, having regard therein, as nearly as may be, to 
the value of the clothing allowed as above, to the infantry and artillery. 

Sec. 8 . That every noncommissioned officer, private, and musician 
shall receive daily the following rations of provisions, to wit: One 


’ Abolished, after May .SI, 1812, by the act of March 28, 1812. 



330 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


pound of beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork, one pound of 
bread or flour, half a gill of rum, brandy, or whiskey, and at the rate 
of one quart of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two pounds of soap, and 
one pound of candles to every hundred rations, or the value thereof, 
at the contract price, when the same shall become due; and if at such 
posts supplies are not furnished by contract, then such allowance as 
shall be deemed equitable, having reference to former contracts and 
the position of the place in question. 

Sec. 9. That to those in the military service of the United States 
who are or shall be employed on the western frontiers there shall be 
allowed during the time of their being so employed two ounces of 
flour or bread and two ounces of beef or pork in addition to each 
of their rations, and half a pint of salt in addition to every hundred of 
their rations. 

* * * 


Act of May 30, 1796 (1 Stats., 1^3). 

AN ACT to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That every noncommissioned officer, private, or musician of 
the artillery and infantry shall receive annually the following articles 
of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat, one coat, one vest, two pair of 
woolen and two pair of linen overalls, four pair of shoes, four shirts, 
four pair of socks, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and one pair of 
buckles. 

Sec. 9. That suitable clothing be provided for the dragoons, adapted 
to the nature of the service, and conformed as near as may be to the 
value of the clothing allowed to the infantry and artillery. 

Sec. 10. That every noncommissioned officer, private, and musician 
shall receive daily the following rations of provisions, to wit: One 
pound of beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork, one pound of 
bread or flour, half a gill of rum, brandy, or whiskey; and at the rate 
of one quart of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two pounds of soap, and 
one pound of candles to every hundred rations. 

Sec. 11.^ That to those in the military service of the United States 
who are or shall be emplo 3 ^ed on the western frontiers there shall be 
allowed, during the time of their being so emplo^^ed, two ounces 
of flour or bread and two ounces of beef or pork in addition to each of 
the rations, and half a pint of salt in addition to every hundred of 
their rations. 

-X- * * 


Act of July 16, 1798 {1 Stats., 60 J 4 ). 


AN ACT to augment the Army of the United States, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6 . . . . That every noncommissioned officer, private, and 

musician shall receive daily the following rations of provisions, to 
wit: One pound and a quarter of beef or three-quarters of a pound of 
pork, eighteen ounces of bread or flour, a gill of rum, brandy, or 

^Repealed hy the act of March 3, 1797 (1 Stats., 507). 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


331 


whiskey; and at the rate of two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, 
four pounds of soap, and one pound and a-half of candles to every 
hundred rations. 

* * * 


Act of July 16, 1798 (1 StaU., 610). 

AN ACT to alter and amend the several acts for the establishment and regulation 
of the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

* -X- -x- 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service of the United States shall be made by 

or under the direction of the chief officers of the departments of War 
. . . and all agents or contractors for supplies or services as afore¬ 

said shall render their accounts for settlement to the accountants of 
the proper department for which such supplies or services are required, 
subject, nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of 
the Treasury in manner before prescribed. 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the purveyor of public supplies 
to execute all such orders as he may from time to time receive from 
the Secretary of War . . . relative to the procuring and provid¬ 

ing of all kinds of stores and supplies, and shall render his accounts 
relative thereto to the accountants of the proper departments, Avhich 
accounts shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the officers 
of the Treasuiy as aforesaid. 

Sec. 5. That the provisions of the act passed on the eighth day of 
May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, intituled “An act 
making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments,” and the 
act passed on the twenty-third day of Februaiy, one thousand seven 
hundred and ninety-live, intituled “An act to establish the office of 
purveyor of public supplies,” so far as the same are repugnant to the 
provisions of this act, be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 6. That all contracts to be made by virtue of this act, or of any 
law of the United States, and requiring the advance of money, or to be 
in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, shall 
be deposited in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury of the 
United States within ninety days after their dates, respectively. 

Act of Afarch 3, 1799 {1 Stats, 749)- 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troop.s of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 19. That a ration of provisions shall henceforth consist of 
eighteen ounces of bread or dour, or when neither can be obtained, of 
one quart of rice or one and a half pound of sifted or bolted Indian 
meal, one pound and a quarter of fresh beef or one pound of salted 
beef, or three-quarters of a pound of salted pork, and when fresh 
meat is issued, salt at the rate of two quarts for every hundred rations, 
soap at the rate of four pounds, and candles at the rate of a pound 
and a half for every hundred rations: Provided, always, That there 
shall be no diminution of the ration to which any of the troops now in 
service may be entitled by the terms of their enlistment. 

Sec. 20. That every noncommissioned officer, private, artificer, and 


332 LEGISLATIVE HI8T0KY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


musician of the artillery and infantry shall receive annually the fol¬ 
lowing articles of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat, one coat, one vest, 
two pair of woolen and two pair of linen overalls, four pair of shoes, 
four shirts, four pair of socks, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and one 
pair of buckles. 

Sec. 21. That suitable clothing be provided for the dragoons, adapted 
to the njiture of the service and conformed as near as may be to the value 
of the clothing allowed to the infantry and artillery.^ 

Sec. 22. . . . that whenever supplies thereof shall be on hand 

there shall be issued to the troops vinegar at the rate of two quarts for 
every hundred rations. 

* * * 

Sec. 24r. That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of War to cause 
to be provided, in each and every year, all clothing . . . neces¬ 

sary for the troops and armies of the United States for the succeeding 
year, and for this purpose to make purchases, and enter, or cause to 
be entered into, all necessary contracts or obligations for effecting the 
same. 

* * * . 


Act of Afarch 16^ 1802 {2 StaU., 132). 

AN ACT fixing military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . three military agents and such 

number of assistant military agents^ as the President of the United 
States shall deem expedient, not exceeding one to each military post, 
which assistants shall be taken from the line. . . . 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officer . . . be as follows, 

to wit: ... to each assistant military agent, eight dollars, in 
addition to his pay in the line, except the assistant military agents at 
Pittsburg and Niagara, who shall, receive sixteen dollars each, in addi¬ 
tion to their pay in the line. . . . 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive, for their daily subsistence, the following number of rations 
of provisions: A colonel, six rations; a lieutenant-colonel, ffve rations; 
a major, four rations; a captain, three rations; a lieutenant, two rations; 
an ensign, two rations; a surgeon, three rations; a surgeon’s mate, two 
rations; a cadet, two rations, or money in lieu thereof at the option of 
said officers and cadets at the posts respectively, when the rations shall 
become due; and if at such post supplies are not furnished by contract, 
then such allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having reference to 
former contracts and the position of the place in question; and each 
noncommissioned officer, musician, and private, one ration; to the com¬ 
manding officers of each separate post, such additional number of 
rations as the President of the United States shall from time to time 
direct, having respect to the special circumstances of each post; to 
the women who may be allowed to any particular corps, not exceeding 
the proportion of four to a company, one ration each; to such matrons 
and nurses as may be necessarily employed in the hospital, one ration 

^ It is assumed that the assistant military agents at posts performed duty in both 
the Subsistence and the Quartermaster’s Departments. This section assigns to pay¬ 
masters charge of the clothing of the troops. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 333 

each; and to every noncommissioned officer who shall keep one servant, 
not a soldier of the line, one additional ration. 

Sec. 6 . That each ration shall consist of one pound and a quarter of 
beef or three quarters of a pound of pork, eighteen ounces of bread 
or flour, one gill of rum, whiskey, or brand}^, and at the rate of two 
quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one 
pound and a half of candles to every hundred rations. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That every noncommissioned officer, musician, and private 
of the artillery and infantry shall receive annually the following articles 
of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat, one coat, one vest, two pair of 
woolen and two pair of linen overalls, one coarse linen frock and trousers 
for fatigue clothing, four pair of shoes, four shirts, two pair of socks, 
two pair of short stockings, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and one 
pair of half gaithers; and the Secretary of War is hereby authorized 
to cause to be furnished to the paymasters of the respective districts 
such surplus of clothing as he may deem expedient, which clothing shall, 
under his direction, be furnished to the soldiers, when necessary, at 
the contract prices, and accounted for by them out of their arrears of 
monthly pay. 

* * * 


Act of March ^6, 180Jf {2 Stats. ^ 290). 

AN ACT in addition to “An Act for fixing the military establishment of the United 

States.” 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That an equivalent in malt liquor or low wines may be sup¬ 
plied the troops of the United States instead of the rum, whiskey, or 
brandy which by the said act is made a component part of the ration 
at such posts and garrisons, and at such seasons of the year as in the 
opinion of the President of the United States may be necessary to the 
preservation of their health. 

Act of Ajpril 12.^ 1808 {2 Stats. ^ JfSl). 

aN act to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 6 . That the subsistence of the officers of the Army, when not 
received in kind, shall be estimated at twenty cents per ration. 

* * * 

Act of January 11^ 1812 (2 Stats.., 671). 

^iN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That each ration shall consist of one pound and a quarter of 
beef, or three-quarters of a pound of pork, eighteen ounces of bread 
or dour, one gill of rum, whiskey, or brandy, and at the rate of two 
quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one 
pound and a half of candles to every hundred rations. 


334 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IJ. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 9. That every noncommissioned officer, musician, and private 
of the artillery and infantry shall receive annually the following arti¬ 
cles of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat, one coat, one vest, two pair 
of woolen and two pair of linen overalls, one coarse linen frock and 
trousers for fatigue clothing, four pair of shoes, four shirts, two pair 
of socks, two pair of short stockings, one blanket, one stock and clasp, 
and one pair of half gaithers. And the Secretary of War is hereby 
authorized to cause to be furnished to the paymasters of the respective 
districts such surplus of clothing as he may deem expedient. 

* * * 

Aei of March 17, 18 m Stats., 695). 

AN ACT supplementary to “An Act to raise an additional military force.” 

That the noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the 
light dragoons shall receive the same uniform clothing as is now pro¬ 
vided by law for the artillery and infantry, excepting one pair of 
gaithers and four pair of shoes, in lieu of which each person shall be 
annually entitled to receive one pair of boots and two pair of shoes. 

Sec. 2. That the noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates 
of the regiment of light artillery shall receive the same clothing as the 
light dragoons when ordered to be mounted. 

* -x- * 


Marches, 18P2 (2 Stats., 096). 


AN ACT to establiHh a Quartermaster’s I)ej>artmeiit, and for other purposes. 

-x- -X ■X- 

Sec. 4. That there shall be a commissary-general of purchases, and 
as many deputy commissaries as in the opinion of the President of the 
United States the public service may require, to be appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

Sec. 6. That it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of pur¬ 
chases, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of War, 
to conduct the procuring and providing of all arms, military stores, 
clothing, and generally all articles of supply requisite for the militaiy 
service of the United States; and it shall be the duty of the deputy 
commissaries, when directed thereto either by the Secretary of War, 
the commissaiy-general of purchases, or, in cases of necessity, by the 
commanding general, Quartermaster-General, or deputy quartermas¬ 
ters, to purchase all such of the aforesaid articles as may be requisite 
for the military service of the United States. 

Sec. 6 . That neither . . . the Commissary-General shall, directly 
or indirectly, be concerned or interested in carrying on the business of 
trade or commerce, or be owner, in whole or in part, of any sea vessel; 
nor shall either of them purchase, by himself or other in trust for 
him, public lands or any other pul3lic property, or be concerned in 
the purchase or disposal of any public securities of any State or of the 
United States, or take or apply to his own use any emolument or gain 
for negotiating or transacting any business in the said department 
other than what shall be allowed by law; and if . . . the 

said . . . Commissary-General shall offend against any of the 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 


835 


prohibitions of this act, the parties so oilending shall upon conviction 
forfeit to the United States tlie penalty of three thousand dollars, and 
may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding five years, and shall be 
removed from office, and be forever thereafter incapable of holding 
any office under the United States. 

Sec. T. That the salary of the commissary-general of purchases shall 
be three thousand dollars per annum, and the compensation to a deputy 
commissary shall not exceed two and one-half per centum on the 
public moneys disbursed by him, nor in any instance the sum of two 
thousand dollars per annum. 

Sec. 8. That the commissary-general of purchases shall, before he 
enters upon his duties, give bond with sufficient sureity, to be approved 
of b}^ the Secretary of War, in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, and 
the deputy commissaries each in the sum of ten thousand dollars, with 
condition for the faithful performance of the duties of their office, 
respectively, which bonds shall be lodged with the Comptroller of 
Treasuiy. 

Sec. 9. That from and after the last day of May next so much of the 
act entitled ‘‘An act to establish the office of purve 3 "or of public sup¬ 
plies” . . . be, and the same is hereby, repealed, and in the 

meantime the purveyor shall deliver over to the Commissary-General 
or one of his deputies the public stores and property of all sorts in his 
possession, who shall receipt to him for the same. 

Sec. 10. That all letters and packets to and from (he . . . 

Commissaiy-General shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Sec. 18. That this act shall go into operation on the lirst day of 
April next. ... 

Sec. 19. That all persons attached to the public service by virtue of 
this act shall be subject to military law, except the deputy com¬ 
missaries. 

Sec. 20. That the President may, and hereby is authorized, in the 
recess of the Senate, to appoint the . . . Commissary-General 

and deput}^ commissaries, or any of them, which appointments shall 
be submitted to the Senate at their next session for their advice and 
consent. 


Aei of May ISm 7^^). 


AN ACT to amend an aet entitled “An act to establish a Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment, and for other purposes.” 

That neither . . . the Commissary-General nor any or cither of 

their deputies or assistant deputies shall be concerned, directly or indi¬ 
rectly, in the purchase or sale, for commercial purposes, of any article 
intended for making a part of, or appertaining to their respective 
departments, except for and on account of the United States; nor shall 
they, or either of them, take or apply to his or their own use any gain 
or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business in their 
. . . departments, other than what is or may be allowed b}" law. 

-x- * 

Sec. 5. That the sixth section of the act hereby amended be, and the 
same is hereby, repealed. 


33G LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of March 3, 1813 {2 Stats., 816). 

AN ACT the ])etter to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, and 
for the accountability of persons entrusted with the same. 

Sec. 2. The superintendent-general of military supplies^ shall pre¬ 
scribe the form of all the returns and accounts of such stores and sup¬ 
plies purchased, on hand, distributed, used, or sold, to be rendered by 
. . . the commissary-general of purchases and his deputies. . . . 

Sec. 3. That the commissary-general of purchases and his deputies 
. . . shall render quarterly accounts of the disposition and state of 

all such stores and supplies to the superintendent aforesaid; and shall 
also make such other returns respecting the same, and at such other 
times, as the Secretary for the War Department may prescribe: Pro¬ 
vided, however. That the accounts and returns thus rendered shall 
relate to the articles of supply only which may^ have been received and 
disposed of, or as may remain on hand, and shall not embrace the 
specie accounts for moneys disbursed by such officers, agents, or other 
persons; which specie accounts shall be rendered, as heretofore, to the 
accountant for the War Department. 

Sec. 4. That the officers . . . who may receive money in advance 

from the War Department shall render quarterly accounts to the 
accountant of the said Department of their specie receipts and disburse¬ 
ments, and shall, moreover, make such other monthly summary state¬ 
ments thereof to the Secretaiy of the said Department as he may 
prescribe. And the quarterly accounts of supplies, or of moneys ren¬ 
dered as aforesaid, shall be respectively settled by the superintendent- 
general of military supplies and by the accountant of the War 
Department, according to their respective authorities, within three 
months after the time when such accounts shall have, respectively, 
been rendered to them. 

Sec. 5. That the Secretary for the War Department shall be, and 
he is hereby, authorized and directed to define and prescribe the species, 
as well as the amount, of supplies to be respectively purchased by the 
Commissary-General’s . . . departments, and the respective duties 

and powers of the said departments respecting such purchases. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 8. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
empowered, as he may deem it expedient, either to appoint for the 
time being a special commissary or commissaries for the purpose of 
supplying, by purchase or contract, and of issuing, or to authorize 
any officer or officers in the Quartermaster-General’s Department to 
supply and issue, as aforesaid, the whole or any part of the subsistence 
of the Army in all cases where, either from the want of contractors, 
or from any deficiency on their part, or from any other contingency, 
such measure may be proper and necessary in order to insure the sub¬ 
sistence of the Army, or any part thereof; and such special commis¬ 
saries shall, each, whilst employed, be entitled to the pay and emoluments 
of a deputy quartermaster-general. 


^ The superintendent-general of military supplies, authorized to be appointed under 
this act, was not a staff officer, but a civilian, with a salary of $3,000 per annum. 
Ilis duties were to keep proper accounts of all military stores and supplies of every 
description purchased for the Army, the volunteers, and the militia, and to prescribe 
forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and supplies, etc. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


337 


Sec. 9. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint not exceeding six assistant commissaries, to be 
attached to such Army, or to reside at such places, respectively, as the 
Secretary for the War Department may direct, for the purpose of 
receiving from the commissary-general of purchases, or from his depu¬ 
ties, and of distributing to the regimental quartermasters, and to such 
officers as may by the Secretary aforesaid be designated, the clothing 
and other supplies purchased by the Commissary-General aforesaid, or 
his deputies, and destined for the use of the troops belonging to the 
Army, or in the vicinity of the place to which such assistant commis¬ 
saries may, respectively, be attached. And said assistant commissaries 
shall, whilst employed, be entitled to the pay and emoluments of a 
deputy quartermaster-general. 

Act of March 30^ ISlJf, {3 Stats. ^ 113). 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to prescribe the quantity and kind of clothing to be issued 
annually to the troops of the United States. 

it- * * 

Act of Decemher 15^ ISlJf {3 Stats. 151). 

AN ACT directing the staff officers of the Army to comply with the requisitions of 
naval and marine officers in certain cases. 

That it shall be the duty of the several officers of the staff of the 
Army of the United States to provide the officers, seamen, and marines 
of the Navy of the United States, when acting, or proceeding to act, 
on shore, in cooperation with the land troops, upon the requisition of 
the commanding naval or marine officer of any such detachment of 
seamen or marines, under order to act as aforesaid, with rations: 
. . . Fromdef nevertheless., That the contract price of the rations 

which may be furnished shall be reimbursed out of the appropriations 
for the support of the Navy. 

* * * 


May 17, 1815 .— . . . The acts of Congress establishing . . . the office of 

the commissary-general of purchases, . . . remain in force. . . . {General 

Orders, A. and I. G.’s Office.) 

Act of Ajyill U. IS 16 (3 Stats., 297). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the Army 
of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the purchasing department shall consist of one com¬ 
missary-general of purchases, as heretofore authorized, with the annual 
salary of three thousand dollars, and one deputy commissary to each 
division, with the annual salary of two thousand dollars, and six assist¬ 
ant commissaries of issues, with the annual salary of one thousand 
three hundred dollars, and as many military storekeepers as the service 


S. Doc. 229-22 



338 LEGISLATIVE HI8T0EY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


may require, whose salaries shall be regulated by the Secretary of War, 
according to the duties they may perform: Provided^ That the pay and 
emoluments shall not exceed that of a captain of infantry. 

Sec. 6. That all officers of the . . . commissary . . . 

department shall, previous to their entering on the duties of their 
respective offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the United States, 
fully to account for all moneys and public property which they may 
receive, in such sum as the Secretary of War shall direct. And all 
. . . commissaries and storekeepers shall be subject to the rules 

and articles of war, in the same manner as commissioned officers: 
Provided also^ That all officers of the . . . commissary’s depart¬ 

ments be submitted to the Senate for their confirmation, in the same 
manner as the officers of the Army. 

Sec. 7. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to prescribe the quantity and kind of clothing to be issued 
annually to the troops of the United States: . . . Provided also^ 

That the manner of issuing and accounting for clothing shall be estab¬ 
lished in the general regulations of the War Department. 

* * * 


Act of April 1818'^ {S Stats^ 126). 

AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That as soon as the state of existing contracts for the sub¬ 
sistence of the Army shall, in the opinion of the President of the 
United States, permit it, there shall be appointed by the President, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one Commissary-Gen¬ 
eral, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of ordnance, 
who shall, before entering on the duties of his office, give bond and 
security, in such sum as the President may direct; and as many assist¬ 
ants, to be taken from the subalterns of the line, as the service may 
require, who shall receive twenty dollars per month in addition to 
their pay in the line, and wffio shall, before entering on the duties of 
their office, give bond and security, in such sums as the President ma}^ 
direct. The Commissary-General and his assistants shall perform such 
duties, in purchasing and issuing of rations to the Army of the United 
States, as the President may direct. 

Sec. 7. That supplies for the Army, unless in particular and urgent 
cases the Secretary of War should otherwise direct, shall be pur¬ 
chased ])y contract, to be made by the Commissary-General on public 
notice, to be delivered on inspection, in the bulk, and at such places 
as shall be stipulated; which contract shall be made under such regu¬ 
lations as the Secretary of War may direct. 

Sec. 8. That the President may make such alterations in the com¬ 
ponent parts of the ration as a due regard to the health and comfort 
of the Army and economy may require. 

Sec. 9. That the Commissary-General and his assistants shall not be 
concerned, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale, in trade or 
commerce, of any article entering into the composition of the ration 

^The act of January 23, 1823 (3-721) continued sections 7, 8, 9, and 10 of this act 
in forc^e for live years and until the end of the next session of Congress thereafter; 
continued in force until repealed, act of March 3, 1835 (4-780). 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


339 


allowed to the troops in the service of the United States, nor shall such 
oflacer take and apply to his own use any gain or emolument for 
negotiating or transacting any business connected with the duties of 
his office, other than what is or may be allowed by law; and the Com- 
missary-Generai and his assistants shall be subject to martial law. 

Sec. 10. That all letters to and from the Commissary-General which 
may relate to his office duties shall be free from postage: Provided^ 
That the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth sections of this act 
shall continue and be in force for the term of five 5 ^ears from the pass¬ 
ing of the same, and thence until the end of the next session of Con¬ 
gress, and no longer. 

Act of ALay i, 18W^ {S Stats., 567). 


AN ACT in addition to the several acts for the ostablishnient of the Treasury, War, 
and Navy Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 6 . That no contracts shall hereafter be made by the Secretary 
of . . the Department of War, . . . except under a law 

authorizing the same, or under an appropriation adequate to its ful¬ 
fillment; and excepting also contracts for the subsistence and clothing 
of the Army . . . which may be made by the secretaries of those 

departments. 


Act of Alarch 1821 {3 Stats. ^ 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That there shall be one Commissary-General of Subsistence; 
and that there shall be as many assistant commissaries as the service 
may require, not exceeding fifty, who shall be taken from the sub¬ 
alterns of the line, and who shall, in addition to their pay in the line, 
receive a sum not less than ten nor more than twenty dollars per month; 
and that the . . . assistant commissaries of subsistence shall be 

subject to duties in both departments [and Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment] under the orders of the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 9. That there shall be . . . one commissary-general of 

purchases and two military storekeepers, to be attached to the purchas¬ 
ing department.^ 


Act of March 3, 1825 {5 Stats., 127). 

AN ACT to authorize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military stores. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to cause to be sold any . . . military stores or subsistence 

. . . supplies which, upon proper inspection or surve}^, shall appear 


^ Section 5 of this act authorizes the President to direct a portion of the moneys 
appropriated respectively for the service of the Quartermaster’s, Subsistence, and 
Medical Departments to be applied to any other of the above-mentioned branches of 
expenditure. 

2 The salary of the two storekeepers was fixed at $1,200 by the act of August 23, 
1842 (5-512). 



340 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


to be damaged or otherwise unsuitable for the public service, whenever, 
in his opinion, the sale of such unserviceable stores will be advantageous 
to the public service. 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or survey of the unserviceable stores 
shall be made by an inspector-general, or such other officer or officers 
as the Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose; and the sales 
shall be made under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed 
by the Secretary of War. 

Act of May 18, 18W Btats., 173). 

AN ACT regulating the accountability for clothing and equipage issued to the Army 

of the United States and for the better organization of the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment. 

That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster’s Department, in 
addition to its present duties, to receive from the purchasing depart¬ 
ment and distribute to the Army of the United States all clothing and 
camp and garrison equipage required for the use of the troops. . . . 

* * * 

Act of March 2, 18^7 {If, /Stats., 238). 

AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-Office Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the . . . Commissary-General . . . be author¬ 

ized to frank and to receive letters and packets by post free of 
postage. . . . 

* * * 

Act of March 2, 1829 {If, Stats., 360). 

AN ACT to continue the present mode of supplying the Army of the United States. 

That the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth sections of the act 
entitled “An act regulating the staff of the Army of the United 
States,” passed April the fourteenth, eighteen hundred and eighteen, 
and the eighth section of the act entitled “An act to reduce and fix the 
military peace establishment of the United States,” passed March the 
second, eighteen hundred and twenty-one, are hereby continued in 
force for five years from the passing of this act, and thence to the end 
of the next session of Congress thereafter, and no longer. 

Sec. 2. That the better to enable the Commissary-General of Subsist¬ 
ence to carry into effect the provisions of the above specified acts there 
be appointed two commissaries, to be taken from the line of the Army, 
one of whom shall have the same rank, pa}^, and emoluments as quar¬ 
termaster, and the other with the rank, pay, and emoluments of assist¬ 
ant quartermaster. 

Act of June 30, 183If, {If, Stats., 735). 

AN ACT to provide for the organization of the Department of Indian Affairs. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
cause such rations as he shall judge proper, and as can be spared from 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 


341 


the army provisions without injury to the service, to be issued, under 
such regulations as he shall think lit to establish, to Indians who may 
visit the military posts or agencies of the United States on the fron¬ 
tiers, or in their respective nations, and a special account of such issues 
shall be kept and rendered. 

* * * 


Resolutum, of February 7, 1836 {5 Stats., 1ST). 

RESOLUTION authorizing the President to furnish rations to certain inhabitants of 

Florida. 

That the President of the United States be authorized to cause 
rations to be delivered from the public stores to the unfortunate suf¬ 
ferers who are unable to provide for themselves and who have been 
driven from their homes by Indian depredations in Florida, until they 
can be reestablished in their possessions, or so long as the President 
shall consider it necessaiy. 

Act of July 6, 1838 {5 Stats., 266). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 


* -X- * 

Sec. 11. That there be added to the commissariat of subsistence 
one assistant commissary-general of subsistence, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; one commissary of 
subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a quartermaster 
of the Army, and three commissaries of subsistence, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of assistant quartermasters. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 17. That the allowance of sugar and coffee to the noncommis¬ 
sioned officers, musicians, and privates, in lieu of the spirit or whiskey 
component part of the army ration now directed by regulation, shall 
be fixed at six pounds of coff ee and twelve pounds of sugar to every 
one hundred rations, to be issued weekly when it can be done with 
convenience to the public service, and when not so issued to be paid 
for in money. 

* * * 


Act of July 7, 1838 (6 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled “An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purposes,” approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

* * * 

Seventh. That the three assistant commissaries of subsistence author¬ 
ized by said act shall not be separated from the line of the Army. 


342 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of August 23, 181^2 {5 Stats., 512). 

AN ACT respecting tlie organization of the Army, and for other jDurposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the office of Commissary-General of Purchases, some¬ 
times called Commissary of Purchases, shall be, and the same is hereb}^ 
abolished, and the duties thereof, shall hereafter be performed by the 
officers of the Quartermaster’s Department, with such of the officers 
and clerks now attached to the purchasing department as shall be 
authorized by the Secretary of War, and under such regulations as 
shall be prescribed by the said Secretary, under the sanction of the 
President of the United States. 

* * * 

Act of June 1818If {9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an Act entitled “An Act providing for the prosecution of 

the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico.” and for 

other purposes. 

* * * • 

Sec. 5. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service 
of the United States in such numbers that the officers of the . . . 

commissary . . . departments, authorized by law, be not suffi¬ 
cient to provide for supplying . . . them . . . , it shall be 

lawful for the President to appoint, with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, as many additional officers of said departments as the service 
may require, not exceeding . . . one commissary for each brigade, 

with the rank of major, and . . . one assistant commissary, with 

the rank of captain, . . . for each regiment; the said . . . 

commissaries, . . . and assistant commissaries, to give bonds, with 

good and sufficient sureties, for the faithful performance of their 
duties; and they ... to perform such duties as the President 
shall direct: Provided, That the said officers shall be allowed the same 
pay and emoluments as are now allowed to officers of the same descrip¬ 
tions and grades in those departments . . . ; that they be subject 

to the rules and articles of war, and continue in service only so long 
as their services shall be required, in connection with the militia and 
volunteers. 

* * * 

July 10, 1848 {9-246 ).—Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted 
men in the several corps of the Army. 

Act of Septeinber 26, 1850 {9 Stats., If 9). 

AN ACT to increase the commissariat of the United States Army. 

That there be added to the Subsistence Department four commissaries 
of subsistence, with the rank of captain, to be taken from the line of 
the Army. 

* * -x- 

September 28,1850 {9-604 ).—Moneys received from the sale of subsistence, military 
stores, and other supplies exempted from operation of act of March 3, 1849, requiring 
certain moneys to be paid into the Treasury without abatement or reduction. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAJRTMENT, 


348 


Act of March 3^ 1861 {9 Stats., 696). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid mid dis¬ 
abled soldiers of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

That . . . ^ the Commissary-General of Subsistence, . . . 

shall be, ex officio, comissioners of the same, . . . 

* * * 


Act of June 21, 1860 {12 Stats., 6Ji). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the allowance of sugar and colfee ... as fixed 
by the seventeenth section of the act of the fifth of July, eighteen 
hundred and thirty-eight, shall hereafter be ten pounds of coffee and 
fifteen pounds of sugar for every one hundred rations. 

-x- * * 

Act of June 23, 1860 (12 Stats., 91). ^ 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one. 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal serv¬ 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of articles or performance of the service, shall be made by advertising 
a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting the same. When 
immediate delivery or performance is required by the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are usually 
bought and sold or such services engaged between individuals. No 
contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be author¬ 
ized by law or be under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, 
except in the War and Navy Departments for clothing, subsistence, 
forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, sharll not 
exceed the necessities of the current year. No arms nor military sup¬ 
plies whatever which are of a patented invention shall be purchased, 
nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, unless the 
same shall be authorized by law and the appropriation therefor explic¬ 
itly set forth that it is for such patented invention. 

* * 

Act of Fehruary 21, 1861 (12 Stats., H7). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thir¬ 
tieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled ‘‘An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 


344 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY'OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of eTune, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one,” approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented firearms, as to which 
the said section shall still be in force. 

* * * 

Act of March 1861 {12 Stats., 21Ii). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending .Tune thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal serv¬ 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of the article or articles or performance of the service, shall be made 
by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting the 
same. When immediate delivery or performance is required by the 
public exigency, the articles or service required may be procured by 
open purchase or contract at the places and in the manner in which 
such articles are usually bought and sold or such services engaged 
between individuals. No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made 
unless the same be authorized by law or be under an appropriation 
adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War . . . Departments 

for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, 
which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. 
And the third section of the act entitled ‘‘An act making appropria¬ 
tions for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Govern¬ 
ment for the year ending the thirtieth [twenty-third] of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one,” shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Act of July 22, 1861 {12 Stats., 268). 

AN ACT to authorize the employment of volunteers to aid in enforcing the laws and 
protecting public property. 

-X * * 

Sec. 3. . . . Each brigade shall . . . have . . . one 

commissary of subsistence. 

-X * * 


Act of August 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 

* x * 

Sec. 2. . . . that there shall be added to the Subsistence Depart¬ 

ment four commissaries of subsistence, each with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of a major of cavalry; and eight commissaries of subsist¬ 
ence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments each of a captain of cavalry, 
and to be taken from the line of the Army, either of th^ Volunteers or 
Regular Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That the army ration shall be increased as follows, viz: 
Twenty-two ounces of bread or Hour, or one pound of hard bread, 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 


345 


instead of the present issue; fresh beef shall be issued as often as the 
commanding officer of any detachment or regiment shall require it, 
when practicable, in place of salt meat; beans and rice or hominy shall 
be issued in the same ration in the proportions now provided by the 
regulation, and one pound of potatoes per man shall be issued at least 
three times a week, if practicable; and when these articles cannot be 
issued in these proportions, an equivalent in value shall be issued in 
some other proper food, and a ration of tea may be substituted for a 
ration of coffee upon the requisition of the proper officer: Provided^ 
That after the present insurrection shall cease the ration shall be as 
provided by law and regulations on the first day of July, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one. 

* * * 

Act of July J, 1862 {12 Stats. ^ SOS). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and additional appropria¬ 
tions for the year ending thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and 
for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the Secretary of War be authorized to commute the 
army ration of coffee and sugar for the extract of coffee, combined 
with milk and sugar, to be procured in the same manner and with like 
restrictions and guaranties as preserved meats, pickles, butter, and 
desiccated vegetables are procured for the Navy, if he shall believe it 
will be conducive to the health and comfort of the Army, and not more 
expensive to the Government than the present ration, and if it shall 
be acceptable to the men. 

* -x- * 

July 17, 1862 {12-594)^ —Contractors for subsistence, clothing, etc., guilty of fraud 
to be subject to the rules and regulations governing the Army. This provision was 
extended by sec. 7 of the act of July 7, 1864 (13-394), to apply to their agents and 
to all inspectors of military supplies. 

Act of July 17, 1862 {12 Stats., S97). 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, and the Acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That each Army Corps shall have . . . one commissary 

of subsistence, . . . , who shall bear, . . . the rank of 

lieutenant-colonel, and who shall be assigned from the Arni}^ or volun¬ 
teer force by the President. ... 

‘X- -x- 

Act of Fehruary 9, 1863 {12 Stats., 648). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Commissary Department. 

That there shall be added to the Subsistence Department of the Army 
one brigadier-general, to be selected from the Subsistence Department, 
who shall be Commissary-General of Subsistence, and by regular yjro- 


346 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

motion, one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, and two majors; the col¬ 
onel and lieutenant-colonel to be assistant commissaries-general of 
subsistence; and that vacancies in the above-mentioned grades shall be 
filled by regular promotions in said department. And the vacancies 
created by promotions herein authorized may be filled by selection 
from the officers of the regular or volunteer force. 

Act of March S, 1863 {12 Stats,, 7JA)- 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance 
Department, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the army ration shall hereafter include pepper, in 
the proportion of four ounces to every hundred rations. 

* * * 


Act of June 20, 186Jf, {13 Stats., 1U)> 


AN ACT to increase the pay of soldiers in the United States Army, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the army ration shall hereafter be the same as pro¬ 
vided by law and regulations on the first day of July, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty-one: Provided, That the ration of pepper prescribed 
in the eleventh section of the ^‘Act to promote the efficiency of the 
Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance Department, and for other 
purposes,” approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, 
shall continue to be issued as heretofore. . . . 

* * * 

Act of June 25, 186Jf {13 Stats., 181). 

AN ACT to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army. 

That every . . . • commissaiy and assistant commissary of sub¬ 
sistence . . . shall, as soon as practicable, be ordered to appear 

for examination as to his qualifications before a board to be composed 
of three staff officers of the corps to which he belongs, of recognized 
merit and fitness, of whom two at least shall be officers of volunteers, 
which board shall make a careful examination as to the qualifications 
of all officers who may appear before them in pursuance of this act, 
and shall also keep minutes and make a full and true record of the 
examination in each case. And all members of such boards of exami¬ 
nation shall, before proceeding to the discharge of their duties as herein 
provided, swear or affirm that they will conduct all examinations with 
impartiality, and with the sole view to the qualifications of the person 
or persons to be examined, and that they will not divulge the vote of 
any member upon the examination of any officer who may appear 
before them. 

Sec. 2. That such boards of examination shall be convened under 
the direction of the Secretary of War, by the . . . Commissary- 

General of Subsistence ... at convenient places; and general 
rules of examination and a standard of qualifications shall be prescribed 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 347 

by said officers subject to the approval of the Secretary of War, and 
shall be published in general orders. 

Sec. 3. That after such general orders shall have been published for 
sixty days, if any officer who shall then be ordered before a board of 
examiners, under the provisions of this act, shall fail for thirty days, 
after i-eceiving such special orders, to report himself as directed, all 
his pay and allowances shall cease and be forfeited until he does appear 
and report for examination; and if he shall thereafter fail for a further 
period of thirty days so to appear, he shall thereupon be dropped from 
the rolls of the Army: Provided^ Jumever^ That if such failure to appear 
and report shall have been occasioned by wounds or sickness, or other 
physical disability, then there shall be no forfeiture of pay until thirty 
days after such disability has been removed; but if in sixty days after 
the disability is removed the officer shall not report himself, he shall 
then be dropped from the rolls as in other cases. 

Sec. 4. That it the board of examination shall report that any officer 
does not possess the requisite business qualifications, they shall forward 
the record of the examination of such officer to the head of the bureau 
to which he may belong, and if the head of such bureau shall approve 
the finding and report of the board, he shall forward the same through 
the Secretary of War to the President of the United States, and if the 
President shall confirm the same, the officer so failing in his examination 
shall, if commissioned, be dismissed from the service with one month’s 
pay, and if not yet commissioned, his appointment shall be revoked. 
And if the board shall report that any officer fails to pass a satisfactory 
examination by reason of intemperance, gambling, or other immorality, 
and if the head of the bureau shall approve the finding and report of 
the board, and the same being communicated, as before provided, to 
the President and confirmed by him, then such officer shall be dismissed 
from the service without pay, and shall not be permitted to reenter the 
service as an officer: Provided^ That such dismissal shall not relieve 
him from liability under existing laws for any offense he may have 
committed. 

Sec. 6 . That the boards of examination shall forward all their records 
of examination to the heads of the bureaus to which they appertain, 
and such records shall be filed in the proper bureaus with a suitable 
index, and any officer who may desire it shall be entitled to receive a 
copy of the record in his own case upon paying the cost of copying 
the same. 


Act of July //, 186{18 381). ' 

AN ACT to restrict the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, and to provide for the pay¬ 
ment of certain demands for quartermaster’s stores and subsistence supplies fur¬ 
nished to the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all claims of loyal citizens in States not in rebellion, for 
subsistence actually furnished to said Army and receipted for by the 
proper officer receiving the same, or which may have been taken by 
such officer without giving such receipt, may be submitted to the Com¬ 
missary-General of Subsistence, accompanied with such proof as each 
claimant may have to offer; and it shall be the duty of the Commissary- 
General of Subsistence to cause each claim to be examined, and, if con¬ 
vinced that it is just, and of the loyalty of the claimant, and that the 


348 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


stores have been actually received or taken for the use of and used by 
said Army, then to report each case for payment to the Third Auditor 
of the Treasury with a recommendation for settlement. 

March 3,1865 Commissaries of subsistence may sell rations at cost prices 

to officers in the field; tobacco, not exceeding 16 ounces per month, may be sold to 
enlisted men at cost prices, exclusive of cost of transportation. 

Marchs, 1865 —Provisions and clothing may be issued to destitute refu¬ 

gees and freedmen. 


Act of March 3, 1863 {13 Stats., 513). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the Subsistence Department. 

That during the continuance of the present rebellion, the Secretary 
of War may, when in his judgment it is necessary, assign to each geo¬ 
graphical military division, to each separate army in the field consist 
ing of more than one army corps, to each military department, and to 
each principal subsistence depot, not exceeding ten in number, an offi¬ 
cer of the Subsistence Department to act as chief commissary of such 
military division, army, military department, or depot, and also an 
officer of the Subsistence Department as assistant in the office of the 
Commissary-General of Subsistence, each of whom, while so assigned 
and acting, shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of 
the Subsistence Department; and in like manner may assign, for pur¬ 
poses of inspection or other special duty in the Subsistence Depart¬ 
ment, commissaries of subsistence, not exceeding six in number, each 
of whom, while so assigned and acting, shall have the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel of the Subsistence Department; and 
to each army corps an officer of the Subsistence Department to be chief 
commissary of the corps, with the like rank of lieutenant-colonel; and 
in like manner may assign to each division of two or more brigades a 
commissary, who, while so assigned and acting, shall have the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of a major of the Subsistence Department: Pro- 
vicled, That when any one of said officers is relieved from said duty, 
his increased rank, pay, and emoluments allowed because of such 
assignment shall cease, and he shall return to his commissioned rank 
in the Subsistence Department: And provided further, That the officers 
authorized to be assigned by this act shall be selected for each grade 
from the commissaries of subsistence who hold commissions or rank in 
the volunteer service and in the regular Subsistence Department in 
proportion to the number of each of said classes, respectively, in service 
at the date of the passage of this act. 

* * * 

July 25,1866 {14-364 ).—Commutation of rations at cost price to be paid to soldiers, 
held as prisoners of war, during period of confinement. 


Act of July %8, 1866 {IJf Stats., 33^). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 16. That the Subsistence Department of the Army shall here¬ 
after consist of the number of officers now authorized by law, viz: 
One Commissary-General of Subsistence,with the rank, pay, and emolu¬ 
ments of a brigadier-general; two assistant commissaries-general of 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


349 


subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; 
two assistant commissaries-^eneral of subsistence, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry; eight commissaries 
of subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of 
cavalry; and sixteen commissaries of subsistence, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of captains of cavalry. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Commissary-General of Subsistence 

shall hereafter be appointed by selection from the corps to which they 
belong, . . . 

* * . x- 

Sec. 25. . . . the Subsistence Department is hereby authorized 

and required to furnish such articles as may from time to time be 
designated by the inspectors-general of the Army, the same to be sold 
to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, . . . : Provided^ That 

this section shall not go into effect until the first day of July, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven. 

* * * 

January 31, 1868 {14-246 ).—Surplus desiccated potatoes and mixed vegetables 
may be issued to all classes of destitute persons in the South. 

June 11, 1868 {15-253 ).—Rations to be issued to Professor Powell’s expedition 
engaged in exploration of the Colorado River. 

Act of March J, 1869 {15 Stats. 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Commissaiy Depart¬ 
ment, ... 

* * * 

February 15, 1870 {16-65 ).—Necessary supplies may be furnished to the poor and 
destitute of the District of Columbia. 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats. J 4 - 80 ). 

AN ACT to provide for the better care and protection of subsistence supplies. 

That the Secretaiy of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and em¬ 
powered to select from the sergeants of the line of the Army who shall 
have faithfully served therein five years, three years of which in the 
grade of noncommissioned officer,' as man}^ commissary-sergeants as 
the service may require, not to exceed .one for each military post or 
place of deposit of subsistence supplied, whose duty it shall be to 
receive and preserve the subsistence supplies at the posts, under the 
direction of the proper officers of the Subsistence Department, and 
under such regulations as shall bo prescribed by the Secretary of War. 
The commissary-sergeants hereby authorized shall be subject to the 
rules and Articles of War, and shall receive for their services the same 
pay and allowances as ordnance sergeants. 

April 23, 1874 {18-34 ).—Temporary issue of supplies of food may be made for the 
relief of the sufferers by the overflow of the Lower Mississippi River. [By the act 
of May 13, 1874 (18-46) the authority given was to expire September 1, 1874.] 

May 28, 1874 Rations to be issued to destitute people on the Tombigbee, 

Warrior, and Alabama rivers. 


350 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of June 23, 187^ {18 Stats,, 2U)- 

AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That hereafter there shall be three assistant commissaries- 
general of subsistence, with the rank, pay, and einolunients of lieu¬ 
tenant-colonel, instead of the two now allowed by law of said grade in 
the Subsistence Department; that the number of commissaries of sub¬ 
sistence with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a captain of cavalry is 
hereby reduced to twelve, and no appointment to fill a vacancy in said 
grade shall be made until the number thereof shall be reduced to 
twelve, and the number thereafter shall remain fixed at twelve. 

* * 45 - 

Sec. 6. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out by reason of any provision of law herein made reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the staff. 

45 - 45 - 45 - 

Sec. 8. That so much of section six of an act entitled “An act mak¬ 
ing appropriations for the support ot the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes,” 
approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as applies to 
the . . . Subsistence . . . Departments of the Army be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed . . . 

February 10,1875 {18-314 )-—Rations to be issued to persons on the Western frontier 
made destitute by grasshoppers. This act to expire September 1, 1875. 

REVISED STATUTES—2nd edition—1878. 

45 - 45 - 45 - 

Sec. 1()9T. The Army of the United States shall consist of— 

45 - 45 - 45 - 

A SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 

45 - 45 - 45 - 

Sec. 1134. Assistant quartermasters shall do dut}^ as assistant com¬ 
missaries of subsistence when so ordered by the Secretary of War. 

45 - 45 - 45 - 

Sec. 1140. The Subsistence Department of the Army shall consist 
of one Commissary-General of Subsistence, with the rank of brigadier- 
general; two assistant commissaries-general of subsistence, with the 
rank of colonel of cavalry; two assistant commissaries-general of sub¬ 
sistence, with the raidc of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; eight com¬ 
missaries of subsistence, with the rank of major of cavalry, and sixteen 
commissaries of subsistence, with the rank of captain of cavalry. 

Sec. 1141. It shall be the duty of the officers of the Subsistence 
Department, under the direction of the Secretary of War, to purchase 
and issue to the Army such supplies as enter into the composition of 
the ration. 

Sec. 1142. The Secretary of War is authorized to select from the 
sergepts of the line of the Army, who shall have faithfully served 
therein five years, three years of which in the grade of noncommis¬ 
sioned officers, as many commissary sergeants as the service may 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 


351 


require, not to exceed one for each military post or place of deposit 
of subsistence supplies, whose duty it shall be to receive and preserve 
the subsistence supplies at the posts, under the direction of the proper 
officers of the Subsistence Department and under such regulations as 
shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War. The commissary ser¬ 
geants hereby authorized shall be subject to the rules and articles of 
war, and shall receive for their services the same pay and allowances 
as ordnance sergeants. 

Sec. 1143. The officers of the Subsistence Department shall, upon 
the requisition of the naval or marine officer commanding any detach¬ 
ment of seamen or marines under orders to act on shore, in cooperation 
with the land troops, and during the time such detachment is so act¬ 
ing or proceeding to act, furnish rations to the officers, seamen, and 
marines of the same. 

Sec. 1144. The officers of the Subsistence Department shall procure, 
and keep for sale to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, for cash 
or on credit, such articles as ma}^, from time to time, be designated by 
the inspectors-general of the Army. An account of all sales on credit 
shall be kept, and the amount due for the same shall be reported 
monthly to the Paymaster-General. 

* * * 

Sec. 1146. Each ration shall consist of one pound and a quarter of 
beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork, eighteen ounces of bread 
or flour, and at the rate of ten pounds of coffee, fifteen pounds of 
sugar, two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four ounces of pep- 

E er, four pounds of soap, and one pound and a half of candles to every 
undred rations. The President may make such alterations in the 
component parts of the rations as a due regard to the health and com¬ 
fort of the Army and economy may require. 

Sec. 1147. The Secretary of War may commute the rations of coffee 
and sugar for the extract of coffee combined with milk and sugar, if 
he shall believe such commutation to be conducive to the health and 
comfort of the Army, and not to be more expensive to the Govern¬ 
ment than the present ration, provided the same shall be acceptable to 
the men. 

Sec. 1148. The ration of sugar and coffee, when issued in kind, shall, 
when the convenience of the service permits, be issued weekty. 

Sec. 1149. Tobacco shall be furnished to the enlisted men by the 
commissaries of subsistence, at cost prices, exclusive of the cost of 
transportation, in such quantities as they may require, not exceeding 
sixteen ounces per month. 

Sec. 1150. No officer belonging to the Subsistence Department, or 
doing the duty of a subsistence officer, shall be concerned, directly or 
indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any article entering into the com¬ 
position of the rations allowed to troops in the service of the United 
States, or of any article designated by the inspectors-general of the 
Army and furnished for sale to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, 
or of tobacco furnished for sale to enlisted men, except on account of 
the United States; nor shall any such officer take or apply to his own 
use any gain or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business 
connected with the duties of his office, other than that which may be 
allowed by law. 

* * * 

Sec. 1191. All officers of the . . . Subsistence . . . depart¬ 
ments, . . . shall, before entering upon the duties of their respec- 


352 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


tive offices, give good and sufficient iionds to the United States, in such 
sums as the Secretary of War may direct, faithfully to account for all 
public moneys and property which they may receive. The President 
may at any time increase the sums so prescribed. 

* * * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Commissary-General of Subsistence, . . . 
shall be appointed l)y selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the . . . Subsistence . . . 

departments. 

^ * * * 

Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any military stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the }mblic service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated by the Secretaiy of War, and the sales 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 1293. Sergeants and corporals of ordnance shall be entitled to 
receive one ration and a half daily. Other enlisted men shall be entitled 
to receive one ration daily. 

Sec. 1294. For each ration of sugar and coffee not issued, nor com¬ 
muted for the extract of coffee combined with milk and sugar, enlisted 
men shall be paid in money. 

* * * 

Sec. 1647. . . . Each brigade [of militia called in service] 

. . . shall have . . . one commissary of subsistence. . . . 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1655. When the militia in the military service of the United 
States are employed on the Western frontiers, there shall be allowed 
two ounces of ffour or bread and two ounces of beef or pork, in addi¬ 
tion to each of their rations, and half a pint of salt, in addition to 
eyery hundred of their rations. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 3714. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service shall be made by or under the direction 

of the chief officers of the departments of war. . . . And all 

agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 
their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper depart¬ 
ment for which such supplies or services are required, subject, neverthe¬ 
less, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasuiy. . . . 

Sec. 3715. Contracts for subsistence supplies for the Army, made 
by the Commissary-General, on public notice, shall provide for a com¬ 
plete delivery of such articles, on inspection, at such places as shall be 
stipulated. 

* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchases on behalf of the United States 
shall be made, unless the same is authorized by law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except" in the War . . . 

Departments, for . . . subsistence . . . , which, however, 

shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. 

•x- * * 

Sec. 4815. The Commissary-General of Subsistence, . . . shall 

constitute a board of commissioners for the Soldiers’ Home. . . . 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


353 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

June 23,1879 {21-30). —To the cost of all stores and other articles sold to officers and 
men, except tobacco, ten per centum shall be added to cover wastage, transportation, 
and other incidental charges. 


Act of May f 1880 (^/ SUiU., 110). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year eiK^i 

ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, and for other purposes. 

-x- vt * 

. . . Procided., That to the cost of all stores and other articles 

sold to officers and men, except tobacco, as provided for in section one 
thousand one hundred and fort}"-nine of the Revised Statutes, ten per 
centum shall be added to cover wastage, transportation, and other inci¬ 
dental charges, save that subsistence supplies may be sold to companies, 
detachments, and hospitals at cost prices, not including cost of trans¬ 
portation upon the certificate of an officer commanding a compan}" or 
detachment or in charge of a hospital, that the supplies are necessary 
for the exclusive use of such company, detachment, or hospital. 

* * * 

May 4,1880 {21-306). —Authorizes issue of 4,000 rations for the use of the sufferers 
made <lestitute by the cyclone at Macon, Miss. 

February 24, 1881 {21-346). —The cost price of articles sold by the Subsistence 
Department to officers and men shall be understood, in all cases, to be the invoice 
price of the last lot of that article received by the officer by whom the sale is made. 

February 25, 1882 { 22-378). —Rations may be issued for the relief of sufferers from 
the overflow of the IVIississippi River. Additional appropriation for the purpose was 
made by joint resolution of March 21, 1882 (22-379), and joint resolution of April 25, 
1890 (26-671). 


Act (f Marolt J, 1883 if ^2 Stats. ^ Jy56). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

PAY DEPAKT3IENT. 

For pay of the Army. — . . . Provided., . . . and here¬ 
after vacancies occurring in the . . . Commissary Departments 

of the Army may, in the discretion of the President, be filled from 
civil life. 

•X- * * 


Act of March 3^ 1883 {22 Stats. ^ 50 Jf). 

AN ACT i)rescribing regulations for the Soldiers’ Home located at Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

* - 55 - * 

Sec. 10. That the Board of Commissioners of the Soldiers’ Home 
shall hereafter consist of . . . , the Commissary-General, . . . 

* * 

February 12, 1884 {23-267). —Subsistence stores may be issued to destitute persons 
in the district overflowed by the Ohio River and its tributaries. Additional appro¬ 
priation for this purpose was made l)y resolution of February 15, 1884 (23-268). 
March 27, 1884 {23-269).— exceeding $125,000 of the appropriation for the 

S. Doc. 229-23 


354 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Ohio sufferers may be used for the relief of destitute persons in the district overflowed 
by the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Resolution of June 7, 1884 (23-273), 
allows for same purpose the unexpended appropriation for the relief of the Ohio 
sufferers. 

Act of July 5, 188Jj, {23 Stats., 107). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Subsistence of the Army.— . . . Provided.^ That hereafter 

all sales of subsistence supplies to officers and enlisted men shall be 
made at cost price only; and the cost price of each article shall be under¬ 
stood, in all cases of such sales, to be the invoice price of the last lot of 
the article received by the officers making the sale prior to the first day 
of the month in which the sale is made. 

Quartermaster’s Department. — . . . Provided.^ That here¬ 

after all purchases of regular and miscellaneous supplies for the Arm}^ 
furnished by the . . . Commissary Department for immediate 

use shall be made by the officers of such department under direction 
of the Secretary of War, at the places nearest the points where they 
are needed, the conditions of cost and quality being equal: Provided 
also.^ That all purchases of said supplies, except in cases of emergency, 
which must be at once reported to the Secretary of War for his 
approval, shall be made by contract after public notice of not less 
than ten days for small amounts for immediate use, and of not less 
than from thirty to sixty days whenever in the opinion of the Secre¬ 
tary of War the circumstances of the case and conditions of the serv¬ 
ice shall warrant such extension of time. The award in every case 
shall be made to the lowest responsible bidder for the best and most 
suitable article, the right being reserved to reject any and all bids. 
The . . . Commissary-General of Subsistence shall report 

promptly^ all purchases of supplies made by his department, with their 
cost price and place of deliveiy, to the Secretary of War, for trans¬ 
mission to Congress annually. 

* * * 

April 25, 1890 {26-671) .—Authorizes purchase of subsistence stores for the relief of 
such destitute persons as require assistance in the district recently overflowed by the 
Mississippi River and its tributaries. 

Act of June 16., 1890 {26 Stats., 157). 

AN ACT to prevent desertions from the Army, and for other purposes. 

* * 

Sec. 5. That the army ration now provided by law shall be increased 
by the addition thereto of one pound of vegetables, the proportion to 
be fixed by the Secretary of War. 

Act of Afarclt 29, 1891^, (^8 Stats., JJ). 

AN ACT to regulate the making of property returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of the Treasury 
Department returns of public property intrusted to the possession of 
officers or agents, . . . the Commissary-General of Subsist- 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


855 


ence . . . shall certify to the proper accounting officer of the 

Treasury Department, for debiting on the proper account any charge 
against any officer or agent intrusted with public property arising 
from any loss, accruing l\v his fault, to the Government as to the 
property so intrusted to him. 

* * -X- 


Act of August 6\ 180/^ {28 Stats., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for tlie fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-live, and for other purposes. 

FOR PAY OF THE GP^NEKAL STAFF. 

. . . ^ Provided., That . . . hereafter all appointments to fill 

vacancies in the lowest grade in the . . . Subsistence Department, 

respectively, shall be made from the next lowest grade in the line of 
the Army. 

* * * 


Act of Fehruavy 12, 1895 (28 Stats.^ 65If). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 
ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, and for other purposes. 

-x- * 


FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 


-X- -x- 

Subsistence Department: . . . Provided., That there shall be 

no appointment of commissary of subsistence with the rank of captain 
until the number of such officers in that grade shall be reduced below 
eight, and thereafter the number of such officers in that grade shall be 
fixed at eight. 

-X- 

March 2, 1895 (28-764), abolishes section 229, Revise<l Statutes, requiring annual 
statement of contracts for supplies or services. 

April 7, 1897 (30-219 ).—Rations to be issued for the relief of destitute persons in 
districts overflowed by the Mississippi River and the Red River of the North. Pro¬ 
vision repeated in joint resolution of June 9, 1897 (30-221). 

May 27, 1897 (30-220), authorizes purchase of food for the relief of destitute citi¬ 
zens of the United States in Cuba. 

December 18, 1897 (30-226 ).—Subsistence stores to l)e issued for the relief of i)er- 
sons in the Yukon River country. 


Act of Ajyril 22, 1898 (30 Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That. the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one chief commissary of subsistence, 

who shall have . . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel; 

The staff' of the commander of a division shall consist of . . . one 

chief commissary of subsistence, . . . who shall have . . . 


356 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


the rank of major, . . . The staff of the commander of a brigade 

shall consist of one commissary of subsistence, . . . with the 

rank of captain, . . . 

* * * 

May 18, 1898 {30-419). —Prescrilx^s modes of issuing sui)sisten(;e stores to the 
destitute inhabitants of Cuba. 

Act of July 7, 1^98 {SO Stats., 715.) 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the Subsistence Department of the Army. 

That during the existence of the present war, and for not exceeding 
one year thereafter, every commissary of subsistence, of whatever 
rank, who shall be assigned to the duty of purchasing and shipping 
subsistence supplies at important depots shall have the rank next 
above that held by him and not above colonel, but the number so 
assigned shall only be such as may be found necessary, not exceeding 
twelve; also, that the two commissaries of subsistence who ma}^ be 
detailed as assistants to the Commissary-General of Subsistence shall 
have the rank of colonel, provided that when any such officer is 
relieved from said duty his temporary rank, pay, and emoluments shall 
cease, and he shall return to his lineal rank in the Department. 

Sec. 2. That there is hereby authorized to be added to the subsist¬ 
ence department in the volunteer service during the present war, and 
not to exceed one year thereafter, eight majors and twelve captains 
for the discharge of such subsistence duties as may be assigned to 
them by the Secretaiy of War, to be nominated and, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, to be appointed by the President. 

Act of March 1899 {SO Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of . . . , a Subsistence Depart¬ 

ment, 

•:<- * •K- 

Sec. 7. That the . . . , Subsistence Department, . . . shall 

consist of the officers and enlisted men now provided by law: . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That so much of the act approved July seventh, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-eight, as authorizes the assignment of certain 
officers of the . . . subsistence departments with increased rank, 

and the continuance in service of certain volunteer officers of these 
departments for a period of one 3 ^ear after the close of the present 
war, is repealed. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff" as follows: 

* * * 

Six commissaries of subsistence with the rank of major, and twelve 
assistant commissaries of subsistence with the rank of captain. 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 


357 


Act of March 3^ 1899 {30 Stats. ^ 106ff. 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the regular and volunteer army 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred. 

* * * 

[The total appropriation for the Subsistence Department] to be dis¬ 
bursed and accounted for as “’Subsistence of the Army,” and for that 
purpose shall constitute one fund. 

* * * 


Act of Fehruary 1901 {^31 Stats. ^ —). 


AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the 
United States . . . shall consist of ... a Subsistence 

Department, . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 17. That the Subsistence Department shall consist of one Com- 
missaiy-General with the rank of brigadier-general, three assistant 
commissaries-general with the rank of colonel, four deputy commis- 
saries-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, nine commissaries 
with the nink of major, twenty-seven commissaries with the rank of 
captain, mounted, and the number of commissary-sergeants now 
authorized by law, who shall hereafter be known as post commissaiy- 
sergeants: Provide f That all vacancies in the grades of colonel, lieu¬ 
tenant-colonel, and major, created or caused by this section, shall be 
tilled by promotion, according to seniority, as now prescribed by law. 
That to till original vacancies in the grade of captain, created by this 
act, in the Subsistence Department, the President is authorized to 
appoint officers of volunteers commissioned in the Subsistence Depart¬ 
ment since April twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. 

* * • 35 - 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding permanent 
appointments in the . . . Subsistence Department, 

including those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain 
and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, 
twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted accord¬ 
ing to seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, and 
nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies which 
can be tilled by such promotions or to the periods for which the offi¬ 
cers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any vacancy, 
except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall occur, which 
can not be tilled by promotion as provided in this section, it shall be 
tilled by detail from the line of the Army, and no more permanent 
appointments shall .be made in those departments or corps after the 
original vacancies created by this act shall have been tilled. Such 
details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, 
under such system of examination as the President may from time to 
time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 


358 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


for selection in any staff department until the}" shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff' corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro¬ 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided^ That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart¬ 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff, duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
b}^ law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

•X- * * 

Sec. 40. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to pre¬ 
scribe the kinds and quantities of the component articles of the army 
ration, and to direct the issue of substitutive equivalent articles in 
place of any such components whenever, in his opinion, economy and 
a due regard to the health and comfort of the troops may so require. 

* * * 

Act of March 1901 (31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

Provided,^ That appointments to fill original vacancies ... in 
the grade of captain in the . . . Subsistence Department . . . 

may be made from officers of volunteers commissioned since April 
twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninetj^-eight. . . . 


VII-THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


















THE 3rEHICAL HEPARTMENT. 


July 27, 1775, Congress created an Hospital Department for the 
Army, its chief being designated as Director-General and Chief Phy¬ 
sician. By the resolution of April 7,1777, Congress adopted the scheme 
for a Medical Department prepared by the Arnw Medical Committee 
of Congress, based on the organization of the British service and 
accepted because it was so, for, as General IVashington said, ‘‘The 
number of officers mentioned in the inclosed plan I presume are nec¬ 
essary for us, because they are found so in the British hospitals.” 

For some years subsequent to the close of the Revolutionary war 
the Army consisted of troops enlisted for short terms of service, with 
no provision for medical service other than that afforded by regimental 
medical officers. The act of March 16, 1802, allowed two surgeons 
and twenty-live mates as the peace establishment, and by the act of 
April 12, 1808, the President was authorized to appoint such number 
of hospital surgeons and surgeons’ mates as the service might require. 
There was, however, no provision made for a chief of the Department 
until, under the act of March 3, 1813, the office of Physician and 
Surgeon-General was created; but the act of April 11, 1818, gave to 
the Medical Department, for the ffrst time in its history, a permanent 
chief under the title of Surgeon-General.” 

1775-1783. 

Director-General and Chief Physician. 

July 27, 1775.—Dr. Benjamin Church (Massachusetts). 

Sept. 14,1775.—Dr. Samuel Stringer (Maryland), Northern Department. 

Oct. 17, 1775.—Dr. John Morgan (Pennsylvania). 

Director- General. 

Apr. 11, 1777.—Dr. AVilliam Shippen, jr. (Pennsylvania). 

Mar. 22, 1780.—Dr. David Oliphant (South Carolina), of hospitals in South Carolina. 
Jan. 17, 1781.—Dr. John Cochran (Pennsylvania). 

Physician-General. 

Apr. 11, 1777.—Dr. Malachi Treat (New York), Northern Department. 

Dr. Ammi Kuhamah Cutler (New Hampshire), Eastern Department. 
Dr. Walter Jones (Virginia), Middle Department. 

Julv 1, 1777.—Dr. Benjamin Rush (Pennsylvania), Middle Department. 

July 2, 1777.—Dr. William Brown (Virginia), Middle Department. 

Surgeon- General. 

Apr. 11, 1777.—Dr. Francis Forgue (Connecticut), Northern Department. 

Dr. Philip Turner (Connecticut), Eastern Department. 

Dr. Benjamin Rush (Pennsylvania), Middle Department. 

July 2, 1777.—Dr. William Brown (Virginia), Middle Department. 

Feb. 21, 1778.—Dr. Charles McKnight (Pennsylvania), Middle Department. 

361 


3G2 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

rjti/mcian and Surgeon-Genend. 

Apr. 11, 1777.—Dr. Jolin Bartlett (Rhode Island), Northern Department. 

Dr. William Burnet (New Jersey), Eastern Department. 

Dr. John Cochran (Pennsylvania), Middle Department. 

Chief Physician and Surgeon. 

Oct. 6,1780.—Dr. John Cochran (Pennsylvania). 

Mar. 3,1781.—Dr. James Craik (Virginia). 

Mar. 5,1781.—Dr. William Burnet (New Jersey). 

Chief Physician. , 

Julv 15,1776.—Dr. William Shippen (Pennsylvania), for the flying camp. 

May 15,1781.—Dr. Peter Fayssoux (South Carolina), of hospital in southern army 
Dr. James Brown (-), of the southern army. 

Purveyor. 

Oct. 6,1780.—Dr. Thomas Bond, jr. (Pennsylvania). 

Apothecary. 

Oct. 7,1780.—Dr. Andrew Craigie (Massachusetts). 

1789-1901. 

Ph ys i dan- Genen d. 

July 19,1798.—Dr. James Craig (Virginia). 

Physician and Surgeon-General. 

June 11,1813.—Dr. Janies Tilton (Delaware). 

Apothecary-General. 

June 11,1813.—Dr. Francis le Baron (Massachusetts). 

Surgeon- General. 

Apr. 18,1818.—Dr. Joseph Lovell (Massachusetts). 

Nov. 30,1836.—Dr. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., May 30, 1848) Thomas Lawson (Virginia). 
May 15,1861.—Dr. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., March 13, 1865) Clement A. Finley (Ohio) 
Apr. 25,1862.—Brig. Gen. William A. Hammond (Maryland). 

Aug. 22,1864.—Brig. Gen. Joseph K. Barnes (Pennsylvania). 

July 3,1882.—Brig. Gen. Charles H. Crane (Massachusetts). 

Nov. 23,1883.—Brig. Gen. Robert Murray (Maryland). 

Nov. 18,1886.—Brig. Gen. John Moore (Indiana). 

Aug. 16,1890.—Brig. Gen. Jedediah H. Baxter (Vermont). 

Dec. 30,1890.—Brig. Gen. Charles Sutherland (Pennsylvania). ' 

May 30,1893.—Brig. Gen. George M. Sternberg (New York). 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

July 19, 1775. 


Resolved^ . . . That a committee of three be appointed to report 

the method of establishing an hospital. 

The committee chosen are, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Paine, and Mr. 
Middleton. 

July 27, 1775. 

The Congress took into consideration the report of the committee 
on establishing an hospital for the Army, and the same being debated, 
was agreed to as follows: 

That for the establishment of an hospital for the Army, consisting of 
twenU" thousand men, the following officers ... be appointed, 
with the following allowance or pay, viz: 

One director-general and chief physician, his pay per day, four 
dollars. 

Four surgeons, each ditto, one and one-third of a dollar. 

One apothecary, ditto, one and one-third of a dollar. 

Twenty surgeons’ mates, each ditto, two-thirds of a dollar. 

One clerk, ditto, two-thirds of a dollar. 

Four storekeepers, each four dollars per month. 

One nurse to every ten sick, one-fifteenth of a dollar per day, or 
two dollars per month. 

Laborers occasionally. 

THE DUTY OF THE ABOVE OFFICERS. 

The director to furnish medicines, bedding, and all other necessaries, 
to pa}" for the same, superintend the whole, and make his report to 
and receive orders from the Commander in Chief. 

Surgeons, apothecaries, and mates—to visit and attend the sick, 
and the mates to obey the orders of the physicians, surgeons, and 
apothecaries. 

Matron—to superintend the nurses, bedding, etc. 

Clerk—to keep accounts for the director and storekeepers. 

Storekeeper—to receive and deliver the bedding and other neces¬ 
saries by order of the director. 

The Congress then proceeded to the election of officers for the hos¬ 
pital, when 

Benjamin Church was unanimously elected to be director of, an4 
physician in, the hospital. 


363 



364 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

BesoVved^ That the appointment of the four surgeons and the apoth¬ 
ecary be left to Doctor B. Church. 

That the mates be appointed by the surgeons. 

That the number of mates do not exceed twenty. 

That the number be not kept in constant pay, unless the sick and 
wounded should be so numerous as to require the attendance of twenty, 
and to be diminished as circumstances will admit; for which purpose 
the pay is fixed by the day, that they may only receive pay for actual 
service. 

That oi’ie clerk, two storekeepers, and one nurse to every ten sick 
be appointed by the director. 


Septemher 1775. 


Besolved^ That Samuel Stringer, esq., be appointed director of the 
hospital and chief physician and surgeon for the Army in the northern 
department. 

That the pay of the said Samuel Stringer, as director, physician, and 
surgeon, be four dollars per day. 

That he be authorized and have power to appoint a number of sur¬ 
geons’ mates under him, not exceeding four. 

That the pay of said mates be two-thirds of a dollar per day. That 
the number be not kept in constant pay, unless the sick and wounded 
be so numerous as to require the constant attendance of four, and to 
be diminished as circumstances will admit, for which reason the pay is 
fixed by the day, that they may only receive pay for actual service. 

That the deputy commissary-general be directed to pay Dr. Stringer 
for the medicines he has purchased for the use of the Army, and that 
he purchase and forward such other medicines as General Schu 3 der 
shall, by his warrant, direct for the use of said Arm}". 

That Mr. Dyer, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Jay, Mr. J. Adams, and Mr. Lewis 
be a committee to devise ways and means for supplying the Continental 
Army with medicines. 

Septemher 1775. 

Ordered^ That the committee appointed to devise ways and means 
of supplying the Army with medicines do buy a parcel of drugs in 
the hands of Mr. Rapalje, which he offers at prime cost. 

October 3, 1775 .—“Doctor Isaac Foster, to take the direction and superintendency 
of the general hospital until further orders.” {Orders, General Headquarters [no 
place given].) 

October 14, 1775. —Dr. Church was arrested for holding correspondence with the 
enemy. 

Octoher 17, 1775. 

The Congress proceeded to the election Oi. a director-general and 
chief physician of the hospital [in Massachusetts Bay], in the room of 
Dr. Church, and the ballots being examined. 

Dr. eJohn Morgan, of Philadelphia, was elected. 

January 3, 1776. 

Be^olved., That the following goods and stores ought to be imported 
as soon as possible for the use of the United Colonies, viz: 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 365 

Medicines, surgeons’ instruments, lint and bandages, in the whole to 
the amount of £2,000 sterling. 

■3*' •3C- -A- 

liesolved^ That the secret w)mmittee be empowered and directed to 
pursue the most ehV.tual measures for importing the foregoing 
articles. 

March 7, 1776. 

Eesolved, That the secret committee be directed to treat with the 
owners of some medicines lately imported, and to purchase the same 
on the most reasonable terms for the use of the continent. 

May 3, 1776. 

Resolved^ That the secret committee be directed to send two hun¬ 
dred pounds of Peruvian bark to the commanding officer in Virginia 
for the use of the Continental forces in the southern department. 


May 11, 1776. 

Resolved, That two sets of trepanning instruments be sent to Vir¬ 
ginia for the use of the surgeons of the Continental troops there; and 
that two sets of trepanning instruments and 100 lbs. of Peruvian bark 
be sent to North Carolina for the use of the Continental troops in that 
colony. 

May 18, 1776. 

The Congress then proceeded to the election of a director of the 
hospital in Virginia, and the ballots being taken, 

William Rickman was elected. 

Resolved, That the hospital in Virginia be on the same establish¬ 
ment, and the pay of the officers thereof the same, as the hospital 
established in the eastern department; 

That two surgeons, one apothecary, six mates ... be allowed 
to the hospital in Virginia; 

That the director be empowered to nominate the surgeons and 
apothecary; 

That the mates be appointed b}^ the surgeons, and that the number 
of the mates be diminished as circumstances will admit; for which rea¬ 
son the pay is fixed by the day, that they may only receive pay for 
actual services. 


June 17, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the committee appointed to provide medi¬ 

cines be directed to send a proper assortment of medicines to Canada. 

June 18, 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. Heyward and Mr. Hall be added to the commit¬ 
tee j3rocuring medicines. 


366 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 6", 1776. 

Resolved^ That Doctor Jonathan Potts be employed as a physician 
and surgeon in the Canada department or at Lake George, as the gen¬ 
eral shall direct; but that this appointment shall not supersede Dr. 
Stringer. 

Jiily 15., 1776. 

Resolved^ That a chief physician be appointed for the flying camp, 
and that his pay be four dollars a da}^ 

The ballots being taken and examined, * 

Doctor William Shippen, jr., was elected. 

July 17, 1776. 

Resolved, That the number of hospital surgeons and mates be 
increased in proportion to the augmentation of the Army, not exceed¬ 
ing one surgeon and five mates to every five thousand men, to be 
reduced when the Army is reduced or when there is no further occa¬ 
sion for such a number; 

That as many persons be employed in the several hospitals . 
as are necessary for the service for the time being, to be appointed by 
the directors of the respective hospitals; 

* * * 

That the several directors of hospitals in the several departments 
. . . shall transmit to the director-general regular returns of the 

number of surgeons’ mates and other ofiicers employed under them, 
their names and pay; also an account of the expenses and furniture of 
the hospital under their direction, and that the director-general make 
reports of the same, from time to time, to the Commander in Chief 
and this Congress. 

* * * 

That the pay of the hospital surgeons be increased to one dollar and 
two-thirds of a dollar by the day; the pay of the hospital mates to 
one dollar by the day; and the pay of the hospital apothecary to one 
dollar and two-thirds of a dollar by the day; and that the hospital 
surgeons and mates take rank of regimental surgeons and mates. 

July W, 1776. 

Resolved., That Dr. Senter be recommended to Dr. Morgan, who is 
desired to examine him, and if, upon examination, he be found quali¬ 
fied, to emplo}^ him in the hospital as a surgeon. 

August 6^ 1776. 

Resolved, That the medical committee be directed to supply the 
director of the hospital with such medicines as he may want. 

August 7, 1776. 

Resolved, That Dr. Rush be added to the medical committee. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


367 


Aiif/ust W, 1776. 

JResoI/ved^ That Dr. Morgan was appointed director-general and 
physician in chief of the American Hospital; 

That pr. Stringer was appointed director and physician of the 
hospital in the northern department onl}"; 

That every director of a hospital possesses the exclusive right of 
appoinpng surgeons and hospital officers of all kinds, agreeable to the 
resolutions of Congress of the 17th of July, in his own department, 
unless otherwise directed by Congress; 

That Dr. Stringer be authorized to appoint a surgeon for the fleet 
now titting out upon the lakes; 

That a druggist be appointed in Philadelphia, whose business it shall 
be to receive and deliver all medicines, instruments, and shop furniture 
for the benefit of the United States; 

That a salary of 30 dollars a month be paid to the said druirsrist for 
his labor. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a druggist, and, the ballots 
being taken. 

Dr. William Smith was elected. 

August m, 1776. 

Resolved^ That Congress have a proper sense of the merits and serv¬ 
ices of Dr. McHenry, and recommend the directors of the different 
hospitals belonging to the United States to appoint Dr. McHenry to 
the first vacancy that shall happen of a surgeon’s berth in any of the 
said hospitals. 

Septemlei' 16, 1776. 

Rrsolved, . . . That the medical committee send an assortment 

of proper medicines to the northern army; 

* * . * 

Septemher W, 1776. 

Ordefred, That the medical committee forward 300 lbs. of Peruvian 
bark to the southern department, for the use of the troops there. 

* * * 

Resolved, That an assistant physician to Dr. Shippen be appointed 
for the flying camp and troops in New Jersey, and that his pa}" be 2 
dollars and f d. per day; 

The ballot being taken. 

Dr. AVilliam Brown was elected. 

September 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to devise ways and 
means for effectually providing the northern army with 
medicines . . . 

The members chosen, Mr. Rush, Mr. Hall, Mr. Chase, Mr. Johnson, 
and Mr. Stockton. 

Resoloed, That the medical committee be directed to apply to the 
council of safety of Pennsylvania for a quantity of medicines, to be 
repaid in kind or in cash, as they shall choose. 


368 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Septemher 30, 1776. 


Eesolmd, . . . That it be recommended to the legislatures of the 

United States to appoint gentlemen in their respective States, skillful 
in physic and surgery, to examine those who offer to serve as sur¬ 
geons or surgeons’ mates in the Army . . . and that no surgeon or 

mate shall hereafter receive a commission or warrant to act as such in 
the Army . . . who shall not produce a certificate from some one of 

the examiners to be appointed, to prove that he is qualified to execute 
the office. 

That all regimental surgeons and mates, as well as those of the hos¬ 
pital, be subject to the direction and control of the directors in the 
several departments. 

Octoher 9, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That John Morgan, esq., provide and superintend 

an hospital, at a proper distance from the camp, for the army posted 
on the east side of Hudson River. 

That William Shippen, jr., esq., provide and superintend an hospital 
for the army in the State of New Jersey. 

That each of the hospitals be supplied by the respective directors 
with such a number of surgeons, apothecaries, surgeons’ mates . . . 

as they shall judge expedient. 

That they make weekly reports to Congress and the Commander in 
Chief of the officers and assistants of each denomination, and also the 
numbers of sick and deceased in their respective hospitals. 

TNovemher 26, 1776. * 

Resolved, That the committee who are sent to the camp be directed 
to make particular enquiry into the abuses in the Medical Department 
in the Army, and report thereon to Congress. 

Noveviber 28, 1776. 

Resolved, That Dr. Morgan take care of such sick and wounded of 
the Army of the United States as are on the east side of Hudson’s 
River, and that Dr. Shippen take care of such sick and wounded as are 
on the Avest side of Hudson’s River; and that they both be directed to 
use the utmost diligence in superintending the surgeons and mates of 
the Army, so that the sick and wounded may be effectually provided 
with eA^erything necessaiy for their recovery'. 

Novemhev 29, 1776. 

Resolved, IRidX the medical committee be directed to provide suffi¬ 
cient quantities of antiscorbutics for the use of the hospitals in the 
northern arm}"; 

That the hospital at Fort George be continued for the reception of 
soldiers laboring Avith contagious diseases, and that there be a general 
hospital erected on Mount Independence; 

That a suitable spot of ground for a garden be enclosed in the neigh¬ 
borhood of the general hospital, to supiffy the Army with vegetables, 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 369 

and that laborer.s be hired to cultivate it under the direction of an 
overseer, to be appointed by the general or commanding officer. 

That the general or commanding officer in each of the armies cause 
strict enquiry to be made into the conduct of the directors of the hos¬ 
pitals and their surgeons, officers, and soi'vants, and of the regimental 
surgeons, that if there had been any just ground of complaints in 
those departments the otfenders may be punished. 

That the colonel or commanding officer of every regiment make 
frequent enquiry into the health of the men under his command and 
report the state thereof, with any negligence, malpractice, or other 
misconduct of the surgeons or others, to the general and to Congress, 
delivering copies of such reports to all persons therein accused. 


December i, 1776. 

Resolved.^ . . . That the medical committee be directed to take 

such steps as they shall judge proper for the accommodation of the 
sick of the Army. 

December^ 12, 1776. —Owing to the approach of the enemy, tiie continental apothe¬ 
cary was directed to remove certain stores to a place of safety. 

Deceinher 30, 1776. 

Resolved^ [That one wagon be allowed on a march] for the partic¬ 
ular use of the director of the hospital. Each wagon to be drawn by 
two horses . . . and subject to such orders as shall from time to 

time be issued by the general or commanding officer. 

Jayiuctry 9, 1777. 

Resolved, That Dr. John Morgan, director-general, and Dr. Samuel 
Stringer, director of the hospital in the northern department of the 
Army of the United States, be, and they are hereby, dismissed from 
any further service in said offices. 

That the directors of the military hospitals throughout the Army, 
with the assistance of the hospital and regimental surgeons in each 
department, make returns to Congress as soon as possible of the kind 
and quantity of medicines, instruments, and hospital furniture that 
remain on hand. 

January llf, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the medical committee provide a suitable 

assortment of medicines and send them to the hospital in the northern 
army with all possible despatch, together with other necessaries for 
the sick. . . . 

That Dr. Potts be directed to repair to Ticondeioga without delay. 

That Dr. Stringer be directed to deliver to Dr. Potts such medicines 
and other medical stores as may be in his hands belonging to the 
continent. 

S. Doc. 229-24 


370 LEC4ISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

January 1777. 

RtrolveJ That Dr. Mackenzie, who has the care of the sick in the 
hospital in Baltimore, be empowered to appoint a mate to assist him. 

February 5, 1777. 

Resolmd, That the medical committee be empowered to employ a 
suitable person in each of the States to purchase such medicines as they 
shall direct, for the use of the army, which can be procured at any 
reasonable rates. 

April 7, 1777. 

Resolved^ That there be one director-general of all the military hos¬ 
pitals, which shall be elected for the Continental Army in the United 
States, who shall particularly superintend all the hospitals between 
Hudson’s and Potomac rivers. 

That there be one deputy director-general, who, in the absence of 
the director-general, shall superintend the hospitals to the eastward of 
Hudson’s River. 

That there be one deputy director-general, who, in the absence of the 
director-general, shall superintend the hospitals in the Northern 
Department. 

That when the circumstances of the war shall require it, there be 
one deputy director-general, who, in the absence of the director- 
general, shall superintend the hospitals in the Southern Department. 

That the director-general, or, in his absence, the deputy director- 
general in each respective department, be empowered and required, 
with the advice and consent of the commander in chief therein, to 
establish and regulate a sufficient number of hospitals at proper places 
for the reception of the sick and wounded of the Army; to provide 
medicines, instruments, dressings, bedding, and other necessary furni¬ 
ture, proper diet, and everything requisite for the sick and wounded 
soldiers and the officers of the hospitals; to pa}" the salaries and all 
other expenses of the same. 

That there be assistant deputy directors to superintend the hospitals 
committed to their care, and assist in providing the articles before 
specified, under the orders or control of the director or deputy director- 
general of the respective districts. 

That there be one apothecary-general for each district, whose duty 
it shall be to receive, prepare, and deliver medicines and other articles 
of his department to the hospitals and Army as shall be ordered by 
the director-general or deputy directors-general, respectively. 

That the apothecaries be allowed as many mates as the" director- 
general or respective deputy directors-general shall think necessary. 

That there be a commissary of the hospitals in each of the aforesaid 
districts, whose duty it shall be to procure, store, and deliver provi¬ 
sions, forage, and such other articles as the director-general shall 
judge necessary for the use of the hospitals, in the purchase of which 
he shall frequently consult with the Commissary and Quartermaster- 
General, and be regulated by the prices which they give. 

That the commissary be allowed such assistants and storekeepers as 
the director-general or deputy director-general of the district shall 
judge necessary. 


THE MEDICAL DEDAETMENT. 


371 


That a steward be allowed for every hundred sick or wounded, who 
shall receive provisions from the conmiissary and distribute them 
agreeable to the orders of the director-general, or physician, or 
surgeon-general, and be accounbible to the commissary for the same. 

That a matron be allowed to every hundred sick or wounded, who 
shall tiike care that the provisions are properly prepared; that the 
wards, beds, and utensils be kept in neat order, and that the most 
exact economy be observed in her department. 

lhata nurse be allowed for every ten sick or wounded, who shall 
be under the direction of the matron. 

That an hostler or stabler be allowed to each hospital, to receive the 
horses from the commissary, and to take care of the wagon and other 
horses belonging to the hospital, pursuant to orders from the director- 
general, or, in his absence, the deputy director-general, or such other 
officers as he shall appoint. 

That there be a clerk in each district, whose business it shall be to 
keep the accounts of the hospitals and to receive and deliver the monies 
agreeable to the orders of the director or deputy director-general. 

That a sufficient number of assistant clerks be allowed. 

That such officers and soldiers as the general shall order to guard 
the hospitals and to conduct such as shall be weekly discharged the 
hospitals to their respective regiments shall, while on this duty, obey 
the director or deputy director-general, or the physicians and surgeons- 
general. 

That the director and deputy directors-general be respectively 
empowered to appoint and discharge their assistant deputy directors, 
and other said officers and attendants of the hospitals, in such numbers 
as the necessities of the Army may recjuire, and the commanders-in- 
chief of the department shall, in writing, approve, report of which to 
be immediately made to Congress, as hereafter directed. 

That there be also one physician and one surgeon-general in each 
district, to be appointed by Congress, whose duty it shall be, respec¬ 
tively, to superintend the practice of physic and surgery in all the 
hospitals of the district to which they shall be appointed, and in the 
absence of the director or deputy director-general they shall have 
power to order the physicians, surgeons, and other officers of the sev¬ 
eral hospitals to such duty as they shall think proper, and shall report 
weekly to the director-general, or, in his absence, to the assistant 
deputy director, the state and number of the sick and wounded in the 
hospitals, and the delinquent officers of the same, and see that such as 
may be fit shall be delivered every week to the officer of the guard, to 
be conducted to the Army. 

That there be allowed, also, senior physicians and surgeons, who 
shall attend, prescribe for, and operate upon, and see properly treated, 
such sick and wounded as shall be allowed them by the director- 
general, deputy director-general, or assistant director, or physician, or 
surgeon-general, the number for the district to be determined by the 
director or deputy director-general and appointed by the surgeon and 
physician-general. 

That there be also such a number of second surgeons as the director 
or deputy director-general for the district shall judge necessary to 
assist the senior surgeons, and be under the same direction, and to be 
appointed by the physician and surgeon-general as aforesaid. 

That there be also such a number of mates as the director-general or 


372 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OE GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


deputy director-general of the district shall direct, who shall as\sist the 
surgeons in the care of the wounded, and see that the medicines are 
properly and regularl}^ administered, and appointed in the manner 
before directed for the senior and second surgeons. 

That a suitable number of covered and other wagons, litters, and 
other necessaries for removing the sick and wounded shall be supplied 
by the quartermaster or deputy quartermaster-general, and in cases of 
their deficiency, by the director or deputy director-general. 

That there be one physician and surgeon-general for each separate 
army, who shall be subject to the orders and control of the director- 
general and deputy director-general of the district wherein he acts. 
That his duty shall be to superintend the regimental surgeons and 
their mates, and to see that they do their duty, to hear all complaints 
against the said regimental surgeons and mates, and make report of 
them to the director-general, or, in his absence, to the deputy director, 
or, in their absence from the said army, to the commanding officer 
thereof, that they may be brought to trial by court-martial for mis¬ 
behavior; to receive from the director-general or deputy director- 
general, a suitable number of large strong tents, beds, bedding, 
medicines, and hospital stores, for such sick and wounded as can not 
be removed to the general hospital with safety, or may be rendered tit 
for duty in a few days; and shall also see that the sick and wounded, 
while under his care, are properly attended, dressed, and conveyed, 
when able, to the general hospital, for which last purpose he shall be 
supplied by the director-general, or deputy director, with a proper 
number of convenient wagons and drivers. 

That each physician and surgeon-general of the armies shall appoint 
such a number of surgeons, nurses, and orderly men as the director 
or deputy director-general shall judge necessaiy, for the more effectual 
care and relief of the sick and wounded, under the care of such phy¬ 
sician and surgeon-general, as provided in the last foregoing section; 
and the said physicians and surgeons-general shall have under them, in 
each army, a steward to receive and properly dispense such articles of 
diet as the director-general, or deputy director-general, shall give or 
order to be given him by the commissary of the army or hospital. 

That whenever any regimental surgeon or mate shall be absent from 
his regiment without leave from the said surgeon-general, or the Com¬ 
mander in Chief of the Army where his duty lies, the said surgeon- 
general shall have power to remove such surgeon or mate, and forthwith 
to appoint another in his stead. 

That the director, deputy directors, physicians, and surgeons-general, 
and all other officers before enumerated shall be tried by a court- 
martial for any misbehavior or neglect of duty as the Commander in 
Chief of the several armies shall direct. 

That the physician and surgeon-general of each army shall cause 
daily returns to be made to him of all the sick and wounded which 
have been removed to the hospitals, all that remain in the hospital 
tents, all that are become fit for duty, all that are convalescent, and all 
who may have died, specifying the particular maladies under which 
the sick and wounded labor. 

That the said physicians and surgeons-general shall cause weekly 
returns of the same to be made to the director or deputy director- 
general, respectively. 

That the ohysicians and surgeons-general of the hospitals cause like 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 878 

daily returns to be made in eveiy hospital, and the like weekly returns 
to their respective directors, mutatis mutandis. 

That the deput}" directors-general cause the like returns to be made 
once every month to the director-general, together with the names 
and denominations of all the officers in the respective hospitals. 

And that the director-general shall make a like return for all the 
hospitals and armies of these United States once every month to the 
medical committee. 

April S, 1777. 


Hesolyed^ That in time of action and on any other emergency when 
the regimental surgeons are not sufficient in number to attend properly 
to the sick and wounded that can not be removed to the hospitals, the 
director or deputy director-general of the district be empowered and 
directed upon the request of the physician and Surgeon-General of 
the Army to send from the hospitals under his care to the assistance 
of such sick and wounded, as many physicians and surgeons as can 
possibly be spared from the necessary business of the hospitals. 

That tlie directors, deputy directors-general, assistant deputy direct¬ 
ors, physicians and surgeons-general be, and they are hereby, required 
and directed to employ such parts of their time, as may convenient!}" 
be spared from the duties before pointed out to them, in visiting and 
prescribing’ for the sick and wounded of the hospitals under their care. 

That the establishment of the Medical Department be as follows: 


Director-General. 


a day and 9 

rations. 

Deputy director-general. 

... 5 

do. 

6 

do. 

Assistant deputy director. 

..3 

do. 

0 

do. 

Physician-general and surgeon-general, each.... 

... 5 

do. 

6 

do. 

Physician and Surgeon-General of the Army. 

...5 

do. 

6 

do. 

Senior surgeons, each. 

... 4 

(lo. 

6 

do. 

Second surgeons, each. 

... 2 

do. 

4 

do. 

Surgeons’ mates, each. 

... lUl. 

do. 

2 

do. 

Apothecaries-general, each. 

... 3 

do. 

6 

do. 

Do. mates, each. 

... Ihd. 

do. 

2 

do. 

Commissary. 

... 2 

do. 

4 

do. 

Clerk, who is to be paymaster.r... 

.. 2 

do. 

4 

do. 

Assistant clerks, each. 

.. f ds. 

do. 

1 

do. 

Stewards, each. 

.. 1 

do. 

2 

do. 

Matron. 

-- i 

do. 

1 

do. 

Nurses, each. 

.. 24-90ths 

do. 

1 

do. 

Stabler... 

.. 1 

do. 

1 

do. 

Regimental surgeons. 

.. 2 

do. 

4 

do. 

Do. mates, each. 

... Hd. 

do. 

2 

do. 


Ajml 11, 1777. 

Congress then proceeded to the election of officers in the hospital 
department; and the ballots being taken. 

Dr. William Shippen, jr., was chosen, by the unanimous ballot of 
the thirteen States, director-general of all the military hospitals for the 
armies of the United States. 

Dr. Walter Jones, physician-general of the hospital in the Middle 
Department. 

Dr. Benjamin Rush, surgeon-general of the hospital in the Middle 
Department. 

Dr. John Cochran, physician and surgeon-general of the army in 
the Middle Department. 





















874 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Dr. Isaac Forster, deputy director-general of the hospital in the 
Eastern Department. 

Dr. Ammi Ruhamah Cutter, physician-general of the hospital in the 
Eastern Department. 

Dr. Philip Turner, surgeon-general of ditto. 

Dr. William Burnet, physician and surgeon-general of the army in 
the Eastern Department. 

Dr. Jonathan Potts, deputy director-general of the hospital in the 
Northern Department. 

Dr. Malachi Treat, physician-general of ditto. 

Dr. Forgue, surgeon-general of ditto. 

Dr. John Bartlett, physician and surgeon-general of the army in the 
Northern Department. 

April m, 1777. 

Besol/ved^ That the surgeons-general and physicians-general of the 
hospitals shall each of them regulate the practice of both physic and 
surgery, and do the duty of physician and surgeon-general in the 
hospitals respectively committed to their charge, and that the director 
and deputy directors-general take proper care to keep the sick and 
wounded in separate departments. 

Ajyril 1777. 

Resolved., That the director and deputy directors-general shall con¬ 
stantly publish in the newspapers the names of the places in which 
their military hospitals are respectively kept, and the several com¬ 
manding officers of parties, detachments, or corps, on their march to 
and from the camp, shall send to the said hospitals such of their officers 
and soldiers as from time to time are unable to proceed, together with 
certificates to the director or deputy director-general, mentioning the 
names of the said officers and soldiers and particular regiments to 
which they belong; unless, from the distance of the hospital or other 
causes, it shall at an}^ time be necessary to deliver them to the care of 
private physicians or surgeons, in which cases such physicians and 
surgeons, and also the respective commanding officers, are forthwith 
to report their names and regiments to the director or deputy directors- 
general as aforesaid, who shall give the necessary orders for removing 
them to the hospitals as soon as may be, and discharge the reasonable 
demands of the physicians and surgeons conducting, agreeable to this 
resolve. 

That the director and deputy directors-general and assistant deputy 
directors have power to order to their respective hospitals the sick 
and wounded of the Army, wherever found, in their own or other 
departments, provided such departments are not supplied with any of 
the officers aforesaid. 

April 1777. 

Resolved., . . . That the physician or surgeon-general of the 

hospital in the middle department be directed to send a proper person 
or persons in the medical department to visit all the hospitals betwixt 
this city and the town of Annapolis, in Maryland, with directions to 
order all such soldiers as shall be deemed capable of service to join 
immediately their respective corps under proper officers. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


375 


May U, 1777. 

Resolved^ . . . The commander in chief, and the commander in 

any separate department, shall be authorized to allow such quantities 
of forage, and for and during such times as they shall think proper, 
to . . . the director-general of the hospital, his subs and surgeons- 

general, . . . ; provided, always, that if any of the officers above 

mentioned, their deputies or assistants, should be allowed forage in 
consequence of any general order hereafter given, and should, never¬ 
theless, not keep any or so many horses as they would be permitted to 
draw forage for, in such case no forage shall be issued for more 
horses than they really have, nor shall the}" at any time thereafter be 
allowed any forage as back allowance or any money in lieu thereof. 

June 10, 1777. 

Resolved^ . . . XXXVI. That all persons employed to pur¬ 

chase for the United States any articles in the several departments of 
the . . . director, . . . shall previously apply to them, or 

the principal officers under them, respectively, for certificates of the 
several prices by them allowed for such articles, and shall not, on any 
pretence whatsoever, exceed such prices. 

June 23, 1777. —Dr. Walter Jones declined, June 20, appointment of jJiysician- 
general. 


July i, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a physician-general of the 
hospital in the middle department, in the room of Dr. Jones; and the 
ballots being taken, 

Dr. Benjamin Rush was elected. 

July 2, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a surgeon-genoral of the 
hospital of the middle department, in the room of Dr. Rush; and the 
ballots being taken. 

Dr. William Brown was elected. 

Augmt 9, 1777. 

The medical committee, to whom was referred the letter from Dr. 
W. Rickman, report '‘that as the establishnient of the military hospital 
in Virginia, by a resolution of Congress of the 18th of May, 1776, is 
entirely distinct from and independent of the general establishment of 
hospitals in the other States, they are of opinion the same was not 
afi'ected by the new regulations of the 7th of April last, and that Dr. 
Rickman still continues director of that hospital;” whereupon, 

ResoJ/oed, That Congress agree to the said report. 

Ordered, That a copy of the foregoing report and concurrence of 
Congress be sent to Dr. Shippen, and that he be directed to withdraw 
from Virginia such physicians, surgeons, or assistants as he may have 
sent thither. 


376 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OE GENEEAL STAEE OF U. S. AEMY. 

AuAjmt SO, 1777. 

Resolved, That the several issuing commissaries be directed to fur¬ 
nish the director-general, or any of the deputy directors, or their 
assistants, with such provisions as any of them shall, from time to 
time, demand by an order in writing, for the use of any temporary 
hospital which shall be established, which order, with the receipt of 
the steward endorsed tnereon, shall be a sufficient voucher. 

September 16, 1777 .—The director-general was ordered to remove to Bethlehem, Pa., 
or some other place of safety, the patients, or stores belonging to his department 
ordered to, or deposited in, Trenton, N. J. 

Novemher 19, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the director-general of the hospitals be 

authorized to cause stoves to be erected in the different hospitals in 
case he shall think such a measure will conduce to make up for the 
present scarcity of blankets and clothing, or to the greater comfort of 
the sick; and that the wagons annexed to the hospital department be 
employed as much as possible in the transportation of fuel for the 
respective hospitals. 

November 19, 1777 .—The director-general of the military hospitals and his assistants 
were authorized to call on Gie clothier-general for a proportionate share of blankets, 
shirts, shoes, and stockings for the use of the sick and wounded. 

December 20,1777. —Dr. Eickman (director of hospital at Alexandria) was suspended 
pending disposition of complaints charging him with neglect of duty. He was 
acquitted of the charges against him and ordered to resume his duties. October 21, 
1780, he was informed that, pursuant to his former request, he was left out in the 
new arrangement of the hospital department. 

January 6, 1778. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general be directed to deliver to the 
order of the director-general as much linen and as many blankets as 
can be spared, to be retained in the hospital for the use of the sick. 

* * * 

That a member of Congress be appointed to visit the hospitals in 
the middle department. The member chosen, Mr. Penn. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the sum of 10 dollars shall be paid by every officer, 
and the sum of four dollars by every soldier, who shall enter or be 
sent into any hospital to be cured of the venereal disease; which sums 
shall be deducted out of their pay, and an account thereof shall be 
transmitted by the physician or surgeon who shall have attended them 
to the regimental paymaster for that purpose; the money so arising 
to be paid to the director-general, or his order, to be appropriated to 
the purchasing blankets and shirts for the use of the sick soldiers in 
the hospital. 

January SO, 1778.—Dr. Bush’s resignation was accepted. 

February 3, 1778. 

And whereas many persons employed ... in other civil 
departments are dispersed in various parts of the continent, over 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


377 


whom neither Congress nor the head of their respective departments 
can have the immediate inspection. 

HeHolved^ that it be recommended to the legislative and executive 
authority of every State to take effectual measures for preventing 
any person within their States from exercising any office in the civil 
department of the Army, . . . under Congress, who shall not, 

when thereunto required by any magistrate, produce a legal appoint¬ 
ment to such office, and a certiffcate of his having taken the foregoing 
oaths or affirmations, or who shall neglect or refuse to take and sub¬ 
scribe the said oaths or affirmations within the time above limited. 

FehruaTy 6\ 1778. 

For the better regulating the hospitals of the United States. 

Resolved., That there be a deputy director-general for the hospitals 
between Hudson’s and Potomac riv’'ers; and that the superintending 
care of the director-general be extended equally over the hospitals in 
every district, and that he be excused from the Suty of providing sup¬ 
plies when the deputy director-general shall be ready to enter upon 
the office; 

That the several officers of the hospitals shall cease to exercise such 
of their former powers as are herein assigned to other officers thereof; 

That in the absence of the director-general from any district the 
physician-general and surgeon-general shall hereafter determine the 
number of hospitals to be provided by the deputy director-general for 
the sick and wounded, and shall superintend and control the affairs of 
such hospitals; 

That the director-general shall consult with the physician-general 
and surgeon-general in each district about the supplies necessary for 
the hospitals, and shall give orders in writing to the deputy director- 
general thereof to provide the same; and in the absence of the 
director-general the physician-general and surgeon-general shall issue 
such orders; 

That each deputy director-general shall appoint one or more of the 
assistant deputy directors under him to the sole business of providing 
beds, furniture, utensils, hospital clothing, and such like articles; and 
shall appoint one or more to provide medicines, instruments, dressings, 
herbs, and necessaries of a similar kind; 

That the director-general shall frequently visit the hospitals in each 
district and see that the regulations are carried into effect; shall exam¬ 
ine into the number and qualiffcations of the hospital officers, report 
to Congress an\^ abuses that may have taken place, and discharge the 
supernumerary officers, if there be an}", that all unnecessary expense 
may be saved to the public; and when the director-general is in any 
particular district the physician-general and surgeon-general in that 
district shall not appoint any officers without his consent; 

That on the settlement of hospital accounts the officers entrusted 
with public money shall produce vouchers to prove the expenditure, 
and receipts from the proper officers of the hospitals, specifying the 
delivery of the stores and other articles purchased, and the apothe¬ 
caries, mates, stewards, matrons, and other officers receiving such 
stores and other articles shall be accountable for the same, and shall 
produce vouchers for the delivery thereof from such officers, and 
according to such forms as the physicians-general and surgeons-general 
have directed, or shall from time to time direct; which forms and 


378 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


directions the physicians and surgeons general shall report to the hoard 
of treasury; 

That the director-general, or, in his absence from the district, the 
physician-general and surgeon-general, shall appoint a ward master for 
each hospital, to receive the arms, accoutrements, and clothing of each 
soldier admitted therein, keeping entries of and giving receipts for 
such articles which, on the recovery of the soldier, shall be returned to 
him, or, in case of his death, the arms and accoutrements shall be deliv¬ 
ered to the commissary or deputy commissary of military stores and 
receipts be taken for the same; and the ward master shall receive and 
be accountable for the hospital clothing, and perform such other serv¬ 
ices as the physician-general or surgeon-general shall direct; 

That the physician-general and surgeon-general shall hereafter make 
no returns to the deput}^ directors-general, but the returns shall be 
made by the said officers respectively to the director-general, who shall 
carefully transmit copies of each with his monthly return to Congress, 
and suspend such of the officers aforesaid as neglect this or any other 
part of their duty, and shall report their names to Congress; 

That the director and deputy directors-general forthwith prepare 
their accounts and adjust them with the commissioners of claims; 

That four dollars a day and the former allowance of rations be here¬ 
after allowed to each assistant deputy director and the commissary of 
the hospitals in each district; and one dollar a day and two rations to 
each ward master. 

Besol/ved^ That Dr. Potts be called from the northern district and 
appointed to act as deputy director-general in the middle district. 

Resolved^ That the eldest assistant deputy director in the northern 
district shall execute the office of deputy director-general in the said 
district until the further orders of Congress; 

That the salaries of the hospital officers and debts contracted for the 
hospitals of the middle district to the time of Dr. Potts’s entering upon 
the office of deputy director-general therein shall be adjusted and paid 
by the director-general, who shall deliver all the public stores in his 
possession to the deputy director-general or his order, taking dupli¬ 
cate receipts for the same and transmitting one of each to the board of 
treasury; and the same rule shall be observed hy Dr. Potts with respect 
to the salaries and debts of the hospital of the northern district and 
the public stores thereof, which are to be delivered to his successor in 
office in that district. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a physician-general in the 
middle district in the room of Dr. Rush, and the ballots being taken, 
Dr. William Brown was elected. 

February M, 1778. 

Resolved.^ That a surgeon-general be appointed for the hospital in 
the middle department, in the room of Dr. Brown, promoted; the 
ballots being taken. 

Dr. Charles McKnight was elected. 

Whereas the duty of the person who executes the office of secretary 
and paymaster of the hospital in the middle department is important 
and difficult. 

Resolved., That the pay of the person who executes those offices in 
the hospital in the middle department be augmented to three dollars 
a day. 

March 9, 1778. —Dr. Ammi Ruhamah Cutter’s resignation was accepted. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


379 


June c9, ms. 


* * * 

Befiolved, That the deputy director-general of the hospital in the 
eastern department shall, as heretofore, in the absence of the director- 
general, supervise the medical affairs of that department till the further 
order of Congress. 

Angmt U, 1778. 

Eesolved, That the resolution of Congress of the 9th of June last 
authorizing the deputy director-general of the hospital in the eastern 
department, in the absence of the director-general, to superintend the 
medical affairs of that department be, and it is hereby, repealed; and 
that the said hospital for the future be under the same regulations as 
the hospitals in the other departments. 

Resolved., That the director-general be directed to enquire into the 
state of the hospital in the eastern department, and give proper orders 
for the good government and economy thereof, and discharge unquali- 
ffed and supernumerary officers, if any there be. 

October W, 1778. 

Whereas, b}" a resolution of Congress of April 22nd, 1777, it is pro¬ 
vided that the several commanding officers of parties, detachments, or 
corps on their march to or from camp shall send to the militaiy hos¬ 
pitals such of the officers and soldiers as, from time to time, are unable 
to proceed, unless from the distance of the hospitals or other causes it 
shall at any time be necessary to deliver them to the care of private 
physicians or surgeons, in which cases the depu^v director-general 
shall discharge the reasonable demands of the physicians and surgeons 
conducting, agreeably to the said resolve. 

And whereas no provision is therein made for discharging the 
accounts of other persons who have been or may be employed by 
proper officers for taking care of and providing for such officers and 
soldiers; 

Resolved., That the deputy directors-general, respectively, be author¬ 
ized and instructed to discharge such of the said accounts as shall 
appear to be reasonable and just, provided that each person who may 
hereafter be employed to provide for officers and soldiers as aforesaid 
shall give earliest notice thereof to the deputy director-general, or the 
physic'ian or surgeon-general of the district, in order for the speedy 
removal to the military hospitals. 

JYovember U, 

Resolved^ That all officers and persons employed on the staff shall 
receive for subsistence money one-third of a dollar for each extra 
ration heretofore allow^ed them. 

January 23, 1779. 

Resolved, That the director-general of the medical department be 
authorized and instructed to enjoin the several deputy directors, phy¬ 
sicians, and surgeons-general, and other officers under his superintend¬ 
ence to attend and perform such duties, at any post or place, as a 


380 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY- 

change of the position of the Army, or other circumstances, may, from 
time to time, make necessary, and shall be re(iuired by the Commander 
in Chief, notwithstanding such deputy director, physician, or surgeon 
is, by the general arrangement of the hospital, attached to a particular 
department; and that in case of any dispute concerning their seniority 
or precedence, the director-general shall determine the same in the 
first instance, the party supposing himself aggrieved being at liberty 
to appeal for redress to the medical committee. 

Resolved^ That the director-general be authorized and instructed to 
supply, for the use of the regimental surgeons, such medicines and 
refreshments as may be proper for the relief of the sick and wounded 
before their removal to a general hospital, and to be dispensed under 
the care and at the discretion of the physician and Surgeon-General of 
the Army. 

March. 10, 1779. —“Col. C. Hall is appointed to superintend the hospital at Bruns¬ 
wick and relieve Col. Beauford.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle-Brook.) 


March 16^ 1779. 

Resolved., That all warrant officers on the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

April 13, 1779. —“Lt. Col. Dabney is appointed to superintend the hospitals in 
Jersey.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle-Brook.) 

May 11,1779. 

Resolved, . . . That all staff officers who serve with the Army 

shall be allowed clothing on the same conditions as officers in the line, 
provided they engage for a year or longer. 

May 18, 1779. —“Major Stevenson is appointed to relieve Col. Dabney in the 
superintendency of the hospitals in New Jersey.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Middle-Brook.) 

June 2,1779. —“Lieutenant-Col. Simms, is appointed to superintend the hospitals in 
Pennsylvania. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Headquarters, Middle-Brook .) 

June 12, 1779. —Dr. John Morgan, director-general and chief physician of the 
general hospitals of the United States, was removed January 9, 1777, by reason of 
the general complaints of persons of all ranks in the Army, but on the report of the 
medical committee to Congress August 9, 1777, that body resolved, June 12, 1779, 
“That Congress are satisfied with the conduct of Dr. John Morgan while acting as 
director-general and physician in chief in the general hospitals of the United States,” 
and ordered the publication of the resolution. 

August 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That the half pay provided by the resolution of the 15th 
of May, 1778, be extended to continue for life; and that the holding 
of a civil office under the United States, or any of them, shall be no 
bar to prevent any officer from receiving the same. 

August 18, 1779. 

Resolved, That until further order of Congress, the said officers [of 
the Army] be entitled to receive monthly for their subsistence money 
the sums following, to wit: Each colonel, . . . 500 dollars; every 

lieutenant-colonel, 400 dollars; eveiw major, . . . 300 dollars; 

every captain, 200 dollars; every lieutenant, ensign, and surgeon’s mate, 
100 dollars. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


381 


R<’mh)e(l^ That until the further order of Congress the sum of 10 
dollars be paid to every noncommissioned officer and soldier monthly 
for their subsistence in lieu of those articles of food originally intended 
for them and not furnished. 

Angui^tSO, 1779. —“Lt. Col. Adams is appointed to superintend the hospitals in 
Pennsylvania and Jersey.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Moore\s House.) 

October 24 , 1779. —‘ ‘ Lieutenant Colonel Williams is appointed to superintend the 
hospital in Albany.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Moore's House.) 


Octobei\ 27, 1779. 

Resolved, That the director-general, each of the deputy directors- 
general, each physician and surgeon-general, each senior physician and 
surgeon, each junior surgeon, each apothecary-general . . . each 

apothecary’s assistant in the hospital of the United States shall be 
entitled to draw clothing annually from the stores of the clothier- 
general in the same manner and under the same regulations as are 
established for officers of the line by a resolution of the 26th day of 
November, 1777. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the said officers 
of the military hospital shall also be entitled to subsistence in like 
manner as is granted to officers of the line, to be estimated in the fol¬ 
lowing ratio: * ^ 

1st. The director-general to receive the same subsistence as a colonel 
in the lino. 

2d. The deputy directors-general, the physicians, surgeons, and 
apothecaries general, the same as lieutenant-colonels. 

3d. The senior physicians and surgeons, the same as majors. 

The junior surgeons and apothecaries’ assistants, the same as cap¬ 
tains, . . . and to commence from the said 18th day of August. 

Resolved, That the mates of the military hospital shall, during 
service, be entitled to the same subsistence as is given to regimental 
surgeons’ mates b}^ the resolution of the 18th day of August last. 

October 28, 1779 .—Resolution of October 27, relative to Medical Department recon¬ 
sidered and recommitted to the Medical Committee. 

November 20, 1779. 

Resolved, That the director-general, deputy directors-general, the 
assistant deputy directors, the physicians and surgeons-general of the 
hospitals and Army, the senior surgeons, the second or junior sur¬ 
geons, the apothecaries-general and apothecaries’ mates or assistants, 
the hospital chaplains, regimental surgeons and mates, mates of the 
military hospitals, commissaries, assistant commissaries, paymasters 
and stewards of the hospital who shall have been in the service for the 
space of one year, and are at present employed in the same, shall each 
be entitled annually to draw clothing from the stores of the clothier- 
general in the same manner and under the same regulations as are 
established for officers of the line by a resolution of Congress on the 
26th day of November, 1777. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the following 
officers of the military hospital shall be entitled to subsistence in like 
manner as is granted to officers of the line by a resolution of the 18th 
day of August last, and in the following proportions, viz: Each deputy 


382 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


director-^'eiieral, 500 dollars per month; eaeh assistant deputy director, 
400 dollars; each physician-^*eneral and suro-eon-general, 500 dollars; 
each physician and surgeon-general, 500 dollars; each senior surgeon, 
400 dollars; each junior surgeon, 300 dollars; each apothecaiy-general, 
400 dollars; each apothecary’s assistant or mate, 100 dollars; each com¬ 
missary, 300 dollars; each commissary’s assistant, 200 dollars; each 
clerk, who is to be paymaster, 200 dollars; each steward, lOO dol¬ 
lars; . . . 

The same to commence from the 18th day of August last. 

Resolved^ That all mates necessarily employed in the military hospi¬ 
tal or Army shall, during service, be entitled to the same subsistence as 
is given to regimental mates, viz, 100 dollars per month. 

November 22, 1779. —The medical committee was instructed to revise the several 
resolutions relating to the hospital dej)artment, digest and arrange them with such 
amendments as will make tlie whole consistent and conformable to the alterations 
made by Congress in the original system. 

November 22, 1779. —“Major Cochrane, of the New York troops, is apiwinted to 
relieve Lieutenant-Colonel Williams, superintending the hospital at Albany.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Moors's Rouse.) 

Noveinher 1779. 

Resolved^ That the returns for clothing for officers in the medical 
stah (regimental surgeons and their mates, who are to draw with the 
regimental staff, excepted) be signed by the director-general or the 
physidan-general and surgeon-general of the district, and such clothing 
shall be delivered either by the clothier-general, or any subclothier in 
the State in which the officer to receive clothing shall reside, as is pro¬ 
vided in the cases of other staff officers not taken from the line. 

December 8, 1779 .— “Doctor Latimer [is] appointed a senior surgeon in the flying 
hospital.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

December 24, 1779. —“The honorable the Board of War, having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen and directed the distribution of them among the officers 
of the . . . staff, who are not adopted by any State: The clothier-general is to 

deliver them upon returns signed by the . . . heads of the following corps and 

departments at the rate directed by a resolution of Congress of the 25th of November 
last, . . . surgeons of the general and flying hospital . . .” {Orders, General 

Headquarters, Morristown .) 

January LV, 1780. 

Resolved^ . . . That the issuing commissaries be respectively 

directed not to deliver rations or parts of rations to any hospital com¬ 
missary, unless on returns signed by him and countersigned by the 
principal physician or surgeon of the respective hospitals, specifying 
the names and stations of the persons for whom, and for what time, 
the rations are drawn, and that the hospital commissary be also required 
to annex to each ration the receipts of the persons to whom he shall 
have delivered the provisions drawn on the last return. 


FJ)r uH 1 'y 1780. 

Resolved^ That Doctor David Oliphant, director-general of the hos¬ 
pitals in the State of South Carolina, be, and he is hereby, directed to 
make monthly returns to the medical committee, agreeable to the reso¬ 
lutions of Congress of the 7th of April, 1771), and that he cause a 
duplicate thereof to be delivered monthl}^ to the commanding officer, 




THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


883 


for the time bein^, of the southern iirmy, and that the direetor-|^eneral 
of the hospitals to the Army of the United States be furnished with a 
copy of this resolution. 

March 28, 1780. —“A subaltern officer from (tenl. Hand’s brigade is to be sent to 
rhukeinin to-morrow to superintend tlie hospital there in place of Lieut. Leonard.” 
( Orders, General lleadrpjaxvtevs, Morristown.) 

May S3, 1780. 

Resolved^ That the director-general, or in his absence, deputy 
director-general, of the hospitals in the eastern district, be, and he is 
hereby, directed to have a suitable house at or near the post of New 
London, in the State of Connecticut, for the reception of such sick 
American prisoners as shall from time to time be exchanged and 
landed in that neighborhood, and that one senior surgeon or physician 
and a suitable number of mates be occasionally employed therein, as 
the number of sick shall increase or diminish. 

Jime 26, 1780. 

Whereas it is represented by the medical committee that difficulties 
arise in the hospital department from the arrest of the director-general. 

Resolved, therefore. That the medical committee be, and are hereby, 
authorized to Dike proper measures for carrying on the business of the 
said department, and that all medical gentlemen and others attached to 
the said department pay obedience to the orders of the said committee. 

June 26, 1780. —Dr. William Shippen, jr., was charged, June 15, 1779, with mal¬ 
practice and misconduct in office. He was tried, but acquitted, and restored to his 
position as director-general October 6, 1780. 

July 6, 1780. —“Doctor Hagan, senior surgeon in the general hospital, is appointed 
to do duty in that capacity in the flying hospital.” {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Pracaness .) 

July 14, 1780. —“Colonel Spencer is appointed to superintend the hospitals in Jer¬ 
sey.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Pracaness.) 

July 21, 1780. Congress accepted the resignation of Dr. W. Brown, physician- 
general. 

August 22, 1780. 

Whereas it is of the utmost importance effectually to prevent the 
destruction, waste, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public 
stores . . . upon which the existence of the armies of these United 

States may depend, and no adequate provision hath been made for the 
just punishment of delinquents in the departments of the . 
purveyor of the hospitals, . . . therefore. 

Resolved, That every person in any of the said departments intrusted 
with the care of provisions or military or hospital stores, or other 
property of these United States, who shall be convicted at a general 
court-martial of having sold, without a proper order for that purpose, 
embezzled, or willfully misapplied, damaged, or spoiled, any of the 
provisions, horses, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other mili¬ 
tary or hospital stores, or property belonging to the United States of 
America, shall suffer death or such other punishment as shall be 
directed by a general court-martial, according to the nature and degree 
of the offense, at the discretion of such court; and every person in 
any of the said departments, intrusted as aforesaid, who shall be con- 


884 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 


victed at a general court-martial of having through neglect suffered 
any of the articles aforesaid to be wasted, spoiled, or damaged, shall 
suli'er such punishment as the said court shall in their discretion direct, 
according to the degree of the olfense. 

Septemher SO, 1780. 

Whereas the late regulations for conducting the affairs of the gen¬ 
eral hospital are in many respects defective, and it is necessary that 
the same be revdsed and amended in order that the sick and wounded 
ma}” be properly provided for and attended, and the business of the 
hospitals conducted with regularity and economy: Therefore, 

Besolved, That there be one director of the military hospitals, who 
shall have the general direction and superintendence of all the hospi¬ 
tals to the northward of North Carolina; that within the aforesaid 
limits there be three chief hospital physicians, who shall also be sur¬ 
geons; one chief physician, who shall also be a surgeon, to each sepa¬ 
rate army; fifteen hospital physicians, who shall also be surgeons; 
twenty surgeons’ mates for the hospitals; one purveyor, with one 
assistant; one apothecary; one assistant apothecary; and to each hos¬ 
pital, a steward, matron, orderly men, and nurses, as heretofore. 

That the director, or, in his absence, one of the chief hospital phy¬ 
sicians, be empowered and required, with the advice and consent of the 
commander in chief, or commander of a separate army, to establish 
and regulate such a number of hospitals, at proper places, for the 
reception of the sick and wounded of the army, as ma}" be found 
necessary. 

That the director be authorized and instructed to enjoin the several 
chief hospital physicians, and other officers of the hospitals under his 
superintendence, to attend at such posts or stations as he may judge 
proper, and also to attend and perform such duties at any post or 
place as a change of the position of the army or other circumstances 
may from time to time make necessary and shall be required by the 
Commander in Chief; and that in case of any dispute concerning their 
seniority or precedence, the director shall determine the same in the 
first instance, the party supposing himself aggrieved being at liberty 
to appeal for redress to the medical committee. 

That in time of action, and on any other emergencv, when the regi¬ 
mental surgeons are not sufficient in number to attend properly to the 
sick and wounded that can not be removed to the hospitals, the director, 
or, in his absence, the nearest chief hospital physician, be empowered 
and required, upon request of the chief physician and surgeon of the 
Army, to send from the hospitals under his care, to the assistance of 
such sick and wounded, as many surgeons as can possibly be spared 
from the necessary business of the hospitals. 

That the director, or, in his absence, two of the chief hospital physi¬ 
cians, shall make out and deliver, from time to time, to the purveyor, 
proper estimates of hospital stores, medicines, instruments, dressings, 
and such other articles as may be judged necessary for the use of the 
hospitals; also direct the apothecary or his assistant to prepare and 
deliver medicines, instruments, dressings, and other articles in his pos¬ 
session to the hospitals and surgeons of the Army and Navv as he or 
they may judge necessary. 

That the director authorize and instruct the purveyor and apothe- 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


385 


cary to supply, for the use of the regimental surgeons, such medicines 
and refreshments as may be proper for the relief of the sick and 
wounded before their removal to a general hospital, and to be dis¬ 
pensed under the care and at the direction of the chief physician of the 
Army. 

That the director, or, in his absence, the chief hospital physicians, 
respectively, be empowered occasionally to employ second mates when 
the number of the sick shall increase so as to make it necessary, and 
to discharge them as soon as the circumstances of the sick will admit. 

‘That the director, or, in his absence, the chief hospital phj^sicians, 
respectively, shall appoint a ward master for each hospital to receive 
the spare regimental arms, accoutrements, and clothing of each soldier 
admitted therein, keeping entries of and giving receipts for every article 
received, which, when the soldiers shall be discharged, shall be ac¬ 
counted for by the said ward master with the commanding officer of 
the regiment to which such soldier belonged or the officer directed to 
take charge of the convalescents from the said hospital; or, in case of 
the death of the soldier, shall be accounted for with and delivered to 
the quartermaster of the regiment to which the said soldier belonged; 
and the ward master shall receive and be accountable for the hospital 
clothing and perform such other services as the chief hospital ph vsician 
shall direct. 

That the director shall make returns of all the sick and wounded in 
the hospitals once every month to the medical committee, together with 
the names and ranks of all the officers and others employed in the sev¬ 
eral hospitals. 

That the director be required to employ such part of his time as may 
be spared from the duties before pointed out to him in visiting and 
prescribing for the sick and wounded of the hospitals, and that he pay 
particular attention to the conduct of the several officers in the hospital 
department, and arrest, suspend, and bring to trial all delinquents 
within the same. 

That the duty of the chief hospital physicians shall be to do and 
perform all the duties hereinbefore enjoined them to do in the absence 
of the director; to receive and obey the orders of the director made 
and delivered to them in writing; to superintend the practice of physic 
and surgery in the hospitals put under their particular care by the 
director, or which, by order of the Commander in Chief or the com¬ 
mander of a separate army, ma}^ be by them established; to see that 
the hospital ph^^sicians and other officers attending the same do their 
duty; and make monthly returns to the director of the state and num¬ 
ber of the sick and wounded in the hospitals under their care; and 
also make returns to the director and to the medical committee of all 
delinquent officers in order that they may be speedily removed or pun¬ 
ished; and to take measures that all such sick and wounded as are 
recovered and lit for duty be delivered weekly to the officer of the 
guard to be conducted to the Army; when present at any hospital to 
issue orders to the proper officers for supplying them with necessaries; 
and generally, in the absence of the director, to superintend and 
control the business of such hospitals, suspend delinquent and remove 
unnecessary noncommissioned officers making report to the director; 
and when iii their power to attend and perform or direct all capital 
operations. 

That the hospital physicians shall take charge of such particular 


S. Doc. 229-25 



386 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


hospitals as may be assigned them by the director. They shall obey 
the orders of the director, or in his absence of the chief hospital 
physician. They shall have power to suspend officers under them, and 
to confine other persons in the hospitals serving under their charge for 
negligence or ill behavior until the matter be regularly inquired into. 
They shall diligently attend to the cases of the sick and wounded of the 
hospitals under their care, administering at all times proper relief, as 
far as may be in their power. They shall, respectively, give orders, 
under their hands, to the assistant purveyor or steward at the hospital, 
for the issuing provisions and stores, as well as for the procuring any 
other small articles that the exigencies of the hospital may require and 
which the store is not provided with, having always a strict regard to 
economy, as well as the welfare of the sick then to be provided for. 
They shall make weekly returns to the nearest chief hospital ph^^sician 
of the state of the hospitals under their respective care. 

The mates shall each take charge of and attend the patients assigned 
them, and perform such other duties as shall be directed by the director, 
chief, or other physicians and surgeons. 

The chief physician and surgeon of the Army shall be subject to the 
orders and control of the director. His duty shall be to superintend 
the regimental surgeons and their mates, to see that they do their duty; 
to hear all complaints against the said regimental surgeons and mates, 
and make report of them to the director, or in his absence to the 
Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a separate army, that 
they may be brought to trial by court-martial for misbehavior; to 
draw for and receive from the purvej^or a suitable number of large, 
strong tents, beds, bedding, and hospital stores, and from the apothe¬ 
cary or his assistant proper medicines for such sick and wounded per¬ 
sons as cannot be removed to the general hospital with safety or may 
be rendered fit for duty in a short time. He shall also see that the 
sick and wounded while under his care are properly attended and 
provided for, and conveyed, when fit to be removed, to the general 
hospital, for which last purpose he shall be supplied by the Quarter¬ 
master-General with a proper number of convenient wagons and drivers. 
He shall have a steward, whom he is to appoint, to receive and properly 
dispense such articles of diet and refreshments as shall be procured for 
the sick, and also shall appoint such a number of nurses and orderly 
men as may be necessary for the attendance of the sick and wounded 
under his care. He shall cause daily returns to be made to him of all 
the sick and wounded which have been removed to the hospitals, all 
that remain in the hospital tents, all that are become fit for duty, 
all that are convalescent, and all who may have died, specifying the 
particular maladies under which the sick and wounded la])or, and shall 
make a monthly return thereof to the director, who shall add it to his 
general hospital returns to be transmitted monthly to the medical 
committee. 

That whenever any regimental surgeon or mate shall be absent from 
his regiment without leave from the chief physician and surgeon or 
commander of the army where his duty lies the said chief physician 
and surgeon shall have power to remove such surgeon or mate and 
forthwith appoint another in his stead. 

That the purveyor provide or cause to l)e provided all hospital 
stores, medicines, instruments, dressings, utensils, and such other 
articles as shall be prescribed b}^ the written order of the director or 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


887' 


two of the chief hospital physicians, and deliver or cause the same to 
be delivered, upon written orders, under the hand of the director, 
chief hospital physician, or one of the hospital physicians having the 
charge of a particular hospital or of the chief physician and surgeon 
of the Army, which, with receipts thereon for delivery of the same, 
shall be his sufficient vouchers. He shall be allowed a clerk and as 
many storekeepers as occasion may require and the director shall 
approve of. He shall also pay the salaries of the officers and all other 
expenses of the hospitals. He shall render his accounts every three 
months to the board of treasury for settlement, and make application 
for money to the medical committee, before whom he shall lay esti¬ 
mates of articles necessary, which shall previously have been approved 
and signed by the director or two of the chief hospital physicians. At 
the same time he shall render to them an account of the expenditure 
of the last sum of money advanced to him; and the said medical com¬ 
mittee shall lay such estimates before Congress with their opinion 
thereon. 

That the assistant purveyor shall procure such supplies and do and 
perform such parts of the purveyor’s duty as by him shall be particu¬ 
larly assigned to him. 

That the apothecary and his assistants receive, prepare, and deliver 
medicines, instruments, and dressings, and such other articles of his 
department to the hospitals and Army on orders in writing from the 
director, or either of the chief hospital physicians, or chief physician 
or surgeon of the Army; and that he be allowed as many mates as 
occasion may require and the director shall approve of. 

That the director, or in his absence the chief hospital physician, 
shall appoint a steward for each hospital, whose duty it shall be to 
purchase vegetables and other small articles, under the direction of the 
purve^'or, and to receive hospital stores from the purveyor and provi¬ 
sions from the Commissary-General and issue the same for the use of 
the sick and wounded agreeably to the order of the physician and sur¬ 
geon attending such hospital, the steward to account with the purveyor 
for all such issues. 

That the director, or in his absence the chief hospital physician, 
appoint a proper number of matrons, nurses, and others necessary for 
the regular management of the hospitals and hx and ascertain their 
pay, not exceeding the sums heretofore allowed, and point out and 
prescribe their particular duties and employments in writing, which 
they are enjoined to observe and obey. 

That the director, with two chief hospital physicians, be empowered 
to fix the pay of second mates and of such clerks, storekeepers, and 
other persons as ma}^ occasionally be employed, and also make such 
regulations and point out and enjoin in writing such further particular 
duties for the several officers of the hospital department as they may 
judge necessary for the regular management of the same, which duties 
shall always be consistent with, and in no wise contradictory to, any 
of the duties hereinbefore particulai'ly enumerated, and which, being 
reported to and approved of by the medical committee, shall thereupon 
become o})ligatory to all those concerned. 

That the Quartermaster-General furnish the hospital department 
from tiniQ to time, as occasion may require, with such a number of 
horses and wagons as may be necessary for removing the sick and 
wounded and for transporting the hospital stores, but that no other 


388 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


horses than those belonging to the officers of the department, for 
which forage may be herein allowed, be kept separately and at the 
expense of the department. 

That no person concerned in trade on his own account shall be suf¬ 
fered to act as an officer in the hospital or Medical Department of the 
Army. 

That no officer or other person in the hospital department, except 
the sick and wounded, be permitted to use any of the stores provided 
for the sick. 

That the director, chief hospital physicians, and the chief physicians 
and surgeons of the Army, physicians and surgeons, purveyor, apothe- 
caiy, assistant purveyor, and assistant apothecary, be appointed and 
commissioned by Congress, the regimental surgeons and mates to be 
appointed as heretofore. 

That the director, with the advice and concurrence of two of the 
chief hospital physicians, appoint all hospital mates, which appoint¬ 
ments shall be certified b}" warrants under the hand of the director; in 
which appointments no person shall be admitted under the age of 
twenty-one years. 

That all the officers in the hospital or medical department shall be 
subjected to trial by courts-martial for all offences in the same manner 
as officers in the line of the Army. 

Resolved^ That the pay and establishment of the officers of the hos¬ 
pital department and medical staff be as follows: 

Director, 150 dollars per month, 2 rations for himself, and one for 
his servant, per day, and forage for two horses. 

Chief physicians and surgeons of the Army and hospitals, each 110 
dollars per month, 2 rations per day, and forage for two horses. 

Purveyor and apothecary, each 130 dollars per month. 

Physicians and surgeons of the hospitals, each 120 dollars per month, 
1 ration per day, and forage for one horse. 

Assistant purveyors and apothecaries, each 75 dollars per month. 

Regimental surgeons, each 65 dollars per month, 1 ration per da}^, 
and forage for one horse. 

Surgeon’s mates in the hospitals, 50 dollars per month, 1 ration per 
day. 

Surgeon’s mates in the Army, 45 dollars per month, 1 ration per day. 

Steward for each hospital, 85 dollars per month, 1 ration per day. 

Ward master for each hospital, 25 dollars per month, 1 ration per 
day. 

Resolved^ That none of the aforesaid officers or any persons employed 
in any of the hospitals be entitled to rations, or provision, or forage 
when on furlough. 

Resolved^ That the chief physician of the Arni}’^ be allowed a two- 
horse covered wagon for transporting his baggage. 

That the several officers above mentioned shall receive their pay in 
the new currency, emitted pursuant to a resolution of Congress on the 
18th day of March last; and that they be allowed and paid at the rate 
of live dollars of said currency per month for every retained ration; 
and shall each be entitled annually to draw clothing from the stores of 
tlae clothier-general, in the same manner and under the same regula¬ 
tions as are established for officers in the line, b}^ a resolution of Con¬ 
gress of the 25th of November, 1779. 

That the returns for clothing for officers in the medical staff (regi¬ 
mental surgeons and their mates, who are to draw with the regimental 


THE MEDICAL DEPAKTMENT. 


389 


staff, excepted) be signed ))y the director or one of the chief hospikil 
physicians; and such clothing shall be delivered either by the clothier- 
general or any subclothier in the State in which the officer to receive 
clothing shall reside, in the same manner as is provided in the cases of 
other staff officers not taken from the line. 

That the several officers whose pay is established as above (except 
the stewards and ward masters) shall at the end of the war be entitled 
to a certain provision of land, in the proportion following, viz: 

The director to have the same quantity as a brigadier-general. 

Chief physician and purveyor, the same as a colonel. 

Physicians and surgeons and apothecary, the same as a lieutenant- 
colonel. 

Regimental surgeons and assistants to the purveyor and apothecary, 
the same as a major. 

Hospital and regimental surgeon’s mates, the same as a captain. 

That the former arrangements of the hospital department, and all 
resolutions heretofore passed touching the same, so far as they are 
inconsistent with the foregoing, be repealed, excepting that the hospi¬ 
tals in the Southern Department, from North Carolina to Georgia, 
inclusive, be continued under the same regulations as heretofore, until 
the further order of Congress. 

Octoher 6\ 1780, 

Congress proceeded to the election of officers in the Hospital Depart¬ 
ment, and, the ballots being taken. 

Doctor William Shippen, jr., was elected director-general; 

Doctor John Cochran, chief physician and surgeon o^* the Army; 

Dr. James Craik, 

Doctor Malachi Treat, 

Doctor Charles McKnight, chief hospital physicians. 

Octoher 7, 1780. 

Congress proceeded to the election of officers in the Hospital Depart¬ 
ment, and, the ballots being taken, 

Thomas Bond, jr., was elected purveyor; 

Isaac Led 3 ^ard, assistant purve 3 "or; 

Doctor Andrew Craigie, apothecaiw; 

William Johonot, assistant apothecary; 

Doctors James Tilton, 

Samuel Adams, 

Davis Townshend, 

Henry Latimer, 
b'rancis Hagan, 

Philip Turner, 

William Burnet, 

John Warren, 

Moses Scott, 

David Jackson, 

Bodo Otto, 

Moses Bloomfield, 

William Eustis, 

George Draper, 

Barnabas Binney, hospital physicians and surgeons. 


390 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

October 7, 1780. —Dr. Matthew Mans was appointed surgeon to the regiment of inva¬ 
lids, and Col. Nicola was authorized to appoint a proper surgeon’s mate to the regi- 
meflt when the number of sick shall make it necessary. 

Octoher 28, 1780. 

Resolved, That the director of the hospitals, the chief physicians and 
surgeons of the hospitals and the Army, and the other physicians and 
surgeons of the hospitals, and also the purveyor, apothecary, and their 
respective assistants, and the stewards, do severally take the oaths or 
affirmations directed by a resolution of Congress of February 3d, 1778, 
and deposit duplicate certificates of taking the same with the medical 
committee as soon as possible; that the said officers, respectively, be 
subject to the pains and penalties mentioned in the resolution of the 
above date for neglecting to take the said oaths or affirmations; and 
that the director of the hospitals take measures for carrying this reso¬ 
lution into immediate eff ect. 

November 1780. —Dr. Shippen was cUrected to repair to headquarters and put 
himself under the orders of the Commander in Chief; his resignation was accepted 
January 3, 1781. 

December 7, 1780. —Dr. John Warren accepted office of hospital physician. 

Deceinher 9, 1780. 

Ordered, That the purveyor and apothecary be directed to issue 
medicines and refreshments necessary for the transient sick which 
may be from time to time under the care of Doctor Mans, as is done 
in the general hospital, he making returns of such sick in the manner 
directed in the hospital regulations to the director and signing receipts 
for such stores as are issued to him. 

Ordered, That Doctor Maus report to the commanding officer at the 
barracks such officers as are appointed to act under him as surgeons 
to the transient sick, in case of misdemeanor, in order that they may 
be tried for misconduct or neglect of duty by a garrison court-martial. 

December 13,1780. —Congress accepted the resignations of Drs. Bloomfield and Rcott, 
two hospital physicians. 

December 31, 1780. —“A field officer from the Pennsylvania line to relieve Col. 
Spencer in the superintendency of the hospitals in New Jersey. He will receive the 
standing instructions from Col. Spencer.” {Orders, General Headquarters, [noplace 
given,'] ) 

January 17, 1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a director of the military hos¬ 
pital, and, the ballots being taken, 

Dr. fJohn Cochran was elected, having been previoush" nominated 
by Mr. Varnum. 

* * * 

Whereas by the plan for conducting the Hospital Department passed 
in Congress the 30th day of September last no proper establishment 
is provided for the officers of the medical staff after their dismission 
from public service, which, considering the custom of other nations 
and the late provision made for the officers of the Army after the con¬ 
clusion of the war, they appear to have a just claim to, for remedy 
whereof, and also for amending several parts of the above-mentioned 
plan: 

Resolved, That all officers in the Hospital Department and medical 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMEKT. 


391 


staff hereinafter mentioned who shall continue in service to the end 
of the war or })e reduced before that time as supernumeraries shall be 
entitled to and receive during life, in lieu of half pav, the following 
allowances, viz: 

The director of the hospital, equal to the half pay of a lieutenant- 
colonel ; 

Chief physicians and surgeons of the Army and hospital and hospital 
ph 3 "sicians and surgeons, purveyor, apothecarv, and regimental sur¬ 
geons, each equal to the half pa}^ of a captain; 

That there be allowed to the purve 3 "or, apothecaiy, and assistant 
purve 3 "or each forage for one horse; 

That the power given in the before-mentioned plan to the chief 
ph 3 "sician and surgeon of the Army to remove regimental surgeons 
and mates in case of absence without leave shall in future extend no 
further than a power of suspension until such delinquent shall be 
reported to a proper officer for bringing him to trial by court-martial; 

That the apothecary ma 3 " deliver medicines, instruments, and dress¬ 
ings, and other articles of his department to the hospitals on orders 
in writing from a physician and surgeon having the care of an 3 ^ par¬ 
ticular hospital where the director or one of the chief physicians and 
surgeons shall not be present to give the same; 

That the power given to the director and chief hospital physicians 
with respect to the appointment of matrons, nurses, and other persons 
necessaiy for the regular management of the hospitals be extended to 
each of the ph 3 ^sicians and surgeons of the hospitals in the absence of 
the director and chief ph 3 "sicians and surgeons. 

February 1781. 

Resolved, That the purveyor of the hospital be, and hereby is, 
empowered and directed to collect, or cause to be collected, and secured 
under his care until properly issued, all public hospital stores and medi¬ 
cines in Virginia late under the direction of Dr. Rickman or others 
acting under the United States, and all persons in possession of such 
public stores or medicines are hereby required to deliver the same to 
the said purve 3 "or or his order upon demand. 

Febr uary 5, 1781. 

Ordered, That the medical committee give the directions necessary 
for establishing a hospital in Virginia and providing for the same, and 
also for removing the sick from the new gaol in this city to some 
proper place to be provided as a hospital for prisoners. 

February 6, 1781. 

Resolved, That Thomas Bond, jr., purveyor to the general hospital, 
be, and hereby is, authorized to settle the accounts for salaries and 
pay the officers of the hospital established in Virginia, under the direc¬ 
tion of Dr. Gould, which have accrued since the new arrangement of 
the Medical Department, and that Dr. Rickman, late deputy director, 
settle and return the accounts of salaries due the officers of the said 
hospitals prior to that date to the present purveyor. 


392 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


March S, 1781. 

Ordered, That Dr. James Craik, chief hospital physician and sur¬ 
geon, be, and he is hereby, appointed chief physician and surgeon of 
the Ai’iny in the room of Dr. J. Cochran, elected director of the 
hospital. 

March r>, 1781. 


According to the order of the day, Congress proceeded to the elec¬ 
tion of a chief physician and surgeon of the hospitals in the room of 
Dr. Craik, removed to the Army; and, the ballots being taken, ^ 

Dr. W illiam Burnet was elected, having been previously nominated 
b}^ Mr. Witherspoon. 

March m, 1781. 

Whereas the late regulations for conducting the Medical Department 
and military hospitals passed the 30th day of September last, and 
amended by several subsequent acts of Congress, extend no further 
southward than to include the State of Virginia; and whereas the 
present operations of the war to the southward make it necessary that 
the Hospital Department in that district be rendered as uniform to that 
in the Northern army as circumstances will permit that no inconvenience 
may arise to the Army in general from different and opposite systems, 
as its operations may eventually be interchangeable from one district 
to another in a short space of time: Therefore, 

Resolmd, That there be one deputy director of the military hospitals, 
who shall, in the absence of the director, have the general control and 
management of all the military hospitals that are or may be established 
under the orders of the commander of the Southern army for the time 
being. 

* * * 

Resolved, That for the army aforesaid there shall be one chief phy¬ 
sician of the hospital, who shall also be a surgeon; one chief physician 
to the said army, who shall also be a surgeon; two hospital p^sicians, 
who shall also be surgeons, and four surgeon’s mates for the hospitals; 
one deputy purve}^!* with an assistant; one deputy apothecary with 
an assistant; and to each hospital a steward, matron, orderly men, and 
nurses as is directed in the arrangement of the hospital passed the 30th 
day of September aforesaid; 

That the deputy director, deputy purveyor, and deputy apothecary 
have and exercise the same powers which are exercised by the director, 
purveyor, and apothecary, respectively, agreeably to the arrangement 
above mentioned; 

That the pay of the deputy director be 140 dollars per month, that 
of the deputy purveyor and deputy apothecary each 120 dollars per 
month; and they shall severally be entitled to the same emoluments 
and subject to the same regulations and restrictions as their respective 
principals are entitled or subjected to by the above-mentioned arrange¬ 
ment and the amendments thereto; 

That all th other officers of the hospital and medical staff for the 
Southern army exercise the powers, perform the same duties, receive 
the same pay and emoluments, and be subject to the regulations and 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 393 


restrictions laid down in the aforesaid arrangement for officers of like 
description: 

^ Provided^ nevertheless^ That the powers therein directed to be exer¬ 
cised by the director and any two chief physicians and surgeons of 
the hospital shall, in the absence of the deputy director, be vested in 
and exercised by the next officer in the Hospital Department for the 
Southern army, and so on in succession, in conjunction with the two 
next seniors. 


March <27, 1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy purveyor of the hos¬ 
pital for the southern arm}^ and, the ballots being taken and counted. 

Dr. Nathan Brownson was elected, he having been previously nomi¬ 
nated by Mr. Adams. 

April 18, 1781. —“The Commander in Chief, considering the scarcity of hospital 
stores and the advanced season, thinks proper to order a discontinuance of inocula¬ 
tion in the Army.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New Windsor.) 

April 21, 1781. 

Pesohied, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is herebj^, 
authorized to remove from office or employment for incapacity, negli¬ 
gence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior such persons not immediately 
appointed by the United States in Congress assembled as are or may 
be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the expendi¬ 
ture of the public supplies, stores, and other property, . . . and 

such of the said persons as are or may be, in his judgment, unnecessary, 
reporting to such authority, board, minister, or office to whom it may 
belong, to supply the vacancy-, the respective names of the persons so 
removed; 

That he be authorized to suspend from office or emplo 3 "ment, for 
similar causes, persons officially emplo\^ed and entrusted as aforesaid 
immediatelv appointed b^^ the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason of suspension: 

Provided, That in all cases where an}^ of the persons aforesaid are or 
ma\" be amenable to the law martial the superintendent be, and he is 
herein^, authorized and directed, if he shall deem it most expedient 
for the public service, to put them in arrest by order in writing, and 
to apph" to the officer whose duty it may be to order a court-martial, 
and such officer is hereby directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingly; 

That in eveiy case of suspension all pa}" and emoluments cease from 
the date thereof unless the persons suspended be upon trial acquitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place, when it may be necessary, l)v a temporary appointment, to 
continue until the person suspended be restored or dismissed; 

That the aforesaid powers shall not be construed to interfere with 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Army or those who may be duly entrusted with money for secret 
service by Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or 
commanding officer of a separate department; 

That the powers aforesaid be exercised during the pleasure of Con¬ 
gress, l)ut not to extend beyond the duration of the war. 


394 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May 15, 1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of officers in the hospital depart¬ 
ment for the southern arni}^ and, the ballots being taken, 

Dr. David Oliphant was elected deputy director; 

Peter Fay ssoux, chief physician of the hospital; 

James Brown, chief physician of the Army; 

Robert Johnston and William Reed, hospital physicians, having been 
previously nominated by Mr. Matthews. 

* * * 

Resolved, That all such officers of the medical department, appointed 
under the directorship of Dr. Oliphant, as are now in captivity in 
South Carolina and Georgia, and have the charge of the sick prisoners 
in those States, be continued in their respective offices as heretofore, 
and be considered as vested with the same power and entitled to the 
same privileges and emoluments as they had and enjoyed before their 
captivity, to extend no further than to the troops and hospitals within 
the enemy’s lines. 

May <28, 1781. 

Ordered, That the medical committee be discontinued, and that the 
committee lodge with the board of war all the returns and papers in 
their possession, and then be discharged; and that the business hereto¬ 
fore entrusted to them and the powers with which they were invested 
be transferred to the board. 

May 31, 1781. —“Lieut. William Eysandeau, of the 5th Massachusetts Regt., is 
appointed until further orders to superintend the general military hospital.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, New Windsor .) 

June 11, 1781. 

Resolved, That the officers of the hospital and medical department 
now in service be allowed the depreciation upon their pay in the same 
manner as officers of the line of the Army. 

-X- ‘X- 

Resolved, That . . . all letters to and from him [the director of 

the hospital] be free. 

June IS, 1781. 

Resolved, That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the several 
States, to which the officers of the hospital and medical department 
now in service respectively belong, or of which they are or were 
inhabitants, to settle the accounts of the said officers for depreciation 
on the principles established by the resolution of Congress of the 
10th of April, 1780, and to make provision for paying the balances 
that may be found due. ... 


July 10, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, either by himself or such person or persons as he shall 
from time to time appoint for the purpose, to procure or contract all 
necessary supplies for the use of the Army or armies of the United 
States, . . . and also for the transportation thereof. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


395 


Septemher 1781. 

liesolved., That tlie present a acaneies of hospital physicians and sur¬ 
geons be tilled up ])y the senior surgeons of the hospital lately deranged; 
the eldest hospital mates or regimental surgeons as shall be recom¬ 
mended by the director and chief physician and surgeon to the Army; 

That all future vacancies of hospital physicians and surgeons be tilled 
by the eldest regimental surgeons and hospital mates, who shall be 
reckoned of equal grades, who shall, upon examination, be found 
qualitied, and obtain a certificate of recommendation from the director 
and chief physician and surgeon of the Army, or of the deputy director 
and chief physician in a separate department; 

That the persons requisite to fill the higher grades in the hospital and 
medical de]>artment be appointed from time to time by Congress 
according to merit and abilities; 

That all surgeons to regiments or corps not belonging to the line of 
any particular State be nominated by the director of the hospitals and 
the chief physician and surgeon of the Army, subject to the approba¬ 
tion of the Commander in Chief, and shall be equally entitled to promo¬ 
tion to hospital physicians and surgeons with the regimental surgeons 
of States lines. 

On recommendation of the director appointed by the board of war, 

Hesolved^ That Dr. Joseph Young, a deranged senior surgeon, and 
Doctors Goodwin Wilson, Daniel Jenifer, Samuel Edmondson, and 
George Campbell, eldest surgeon’s mates, be promoted to the rank of 
hospital physicians and surgeons to fill the vacancies occasioned by the 
resignation of Doctors Bloomfield, Scott, Hagan, and Jackson, and the 
promotion of Dr. Burnet. 

On the recommendation of the deput}^ director, approved by the 
board of war. 

Resolved^ That Doctors Thomas Tudor Tucker and Vickers be 
sicians and surgeons in the hospital for the southern 

Smith be appointed assistant deputy purveyor and flohn 
Came assistant deputy apothecary in the southern department. 


appointed phj 
department; 
That Daniel 


September 1781. 

Ordered^ That no appointment be made of mates to supply the places 
of those promoted in the general hospital by the resolution of the 20th 
instant until the further order of Congress. 

October 1781 . —“Capt. Pike, of Col. Scammell’s regt. of infantry, is appointed to 

superintend the military hospital at Williamsburgh.” 

“The gentlemen in the Medical Dept, from South Carolina are desired to do duty 
in the general hospital at Williamsburgh.” {Orders, General Headquarters, before 
York.) 


Octoher 18, 1781. 

Resolved, That Dr. Johnson, a hospital physician and surgeon, be, 
and he is hereby, authorized to do the duty of deputy purveyor for 
the military hospital in the Southern Department until the further 
order of Congress. 


896 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

January 1782. 

Resolred^ That for the more regular conducting the general hospital, 
the offices of chief physician and surgeon of the Army, and of chief 
hospital physician, 1)e, and hereby are, abolished; and that the chief 
physician and surgeon to the Army, eldest in appointment, be con¬ 
tinued in service, under the title of physician, with the pay and emolu¬ 
ments heretofore allowed to a chief hospital physician; 

That the number of surgeons to all the military hospitals of the 
United States be reduced so as not to exceed fifteen; 

That the director have the general superintendence and direction of 
all the military hospitals, and of practice both in camp and in hospitals; 

That in the absence of the director, his duty devolve on the deputy 
director or physician, and in their absence on the hospital surgeon, 
according to seniority; 

That the director, or in his absence the senior medical officer, with 
the approbation of the Commander in Chief or commanding general of 
a separate army, be, and hereby is, authorized and empowered, as 
often as may be judged necessary, to call a medical board, which shall 
consist of the three senior medical officers then present; and it shall be 
the duty of such board to appoint all hospital mates, to examine all 
candidates for promotion in the hospital department, and recommend 
to the Secretary at War such as they judge best qualified; and gener¬ 
ally to take cognizance of, and give their opinion and advice on, every 
matter relative to the department which may be submitted to them by 
the Commander in Chief or commanding general of a separate army: 
Provided always^ That no regulation, plan, or order of the board shall 
be valid and take effect until approved by the Commander in Chief or 
commanding general of a separate army and issued in general orders. 

That all returns heretofore ordered to be made by the director or 
deputy director to the medical committee be made to the Secretary 
at War. 

That the stewards may, in the first instance, when the purveyor or 
his assistant is at a distance, be appointed by the director or senior 
medical officer, but shall be removable at pleasure and others substi¬ 
tuted in their stead by the purveyor or his assistant. And although 
in their purchases or issues they are to obey the orders of the pre¬ 
scribing surgeons, yet for the faithful discharge of their duty they are 
to be accountable to the purveyor, who shall in like manner be account¬ 
able to the United States. Wherefore the said stewards shall keep 
separate accounts of all they receive and of what they themselves pur¬ 
chase, and shall render an account monthly of all the issues, with their 
stock on hand, to the purveyor, who shall render the said accounts, 
together with a particular account of the supplies furnished by him¬ 
self or his assistants to each respective hospital, once every three 
months to the superintendents of finance. 

That the Secretary at War be, and he is hereby, empowered and 
directed, on or before the first day of February next, and hereafter 
from time to time, as the service may require, to arrange the depart¬ 
ment agreeably to the foregoing resolutions, and to issue his orders 
to such as he think proper to remain, pa 3 Tng a due regard in his first 
arrangement to such of the chief ph 3 ^sicians and surgeons as may 
choose to continue in service in the rank of surgeons, and in his sub¬ 
sequent^ arrangements to such of the senior officers as may choose to 
remain in service. 


THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 


397 


That such of the officers as shall not be called into service agreeably 
to the foregoing resolution be considered as reduced by Congress, and 
be entitled to the emoluments granted by the act of Congress of the 
17th of J anuarV ,1781. 

That when by reason of vacancies or otherwise any officer hereafter 
to be appointed in the hospital department, and whose appointment is 
reserved to Congress, due regard be paid to the officers next in rank, 
and that the appointment of hospital surgeons be from among the regi¬ 
mental surgeons and hospital mates: Provided^ That no regimental 
surgeon shall be so appointed who shall not have submitted himself to 
an examination by the medical board and obtain from them a certificate 
that he is well qualified for the office of regimental surgeon, by which 
certificate the regimental surgeon shall be considered as superior in 
rank to an hospital mate, but not otherwise. 

PesoJved^ That the director, deputy director, physician, surgeons, 
and mates, as well hospital as regimental, receive their pay out of the 
military chest at the same time and in the same manner as the arni}^ 
with which they serve; the abstracts to be signed by the director, 
deputy director, or physician, or in their absence by the senior hos 
pital surgeon; and the warrants to issue in the same manner as for the 
pay of the Army. 

January 10^ 178^. 

Pe.^olvcd^ . . . ; the director, deputy director, or superintend¬ 

ing surgeon of any hospital shall furnish them, the Inspector-General, 
or inspector of a separate arni}^ with such returns as they may find 
necessary for the better execution of their office. 

* * * 

Ordered^ That the present purveyor of the hospital, who was lately 
assistant deputy director of the middle district, settle and certify the 
pay and other allowance due to the officers of the late hospital depart¬ 
ment, north of Potomac, up to the 4th day of October, 1780, the time 
that a new choice of officers took place. 

January 16^ 1782. 

Pesolved^ That in the settlement of the accounts of such officers of 
the hospital and medical department as are entitled to an allowance 
for depreciation hy any resolutions of Congress, the establishment of 
pay ipade upon the 8th day of April, 1777, be considered as specie. 

Ajndl 22, 1782. 

Resolved, That from and after the first day of May next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow¬ 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster’s Department, . . . be, and they are 

hereby, repealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations, . . . 


affixed to their several ranks, viz: 

* * * 

Director-general of the hospital. 2 rations per day. 

Chief physician and surgeon. 2 do. 

Hospital surgeon. 1 4o. 

mate. 1 4o. 

steward. 1 do. 

ward master ...... t - r - r.- t - - - r-1 do, 








398 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


May 7, 178^. 

RcHolved^ That the superintendent of tinance i)e, and hereby is, 
authorized to appoint an inspector for the Main and Southern Army, 
to take care that the contracts for supplying rations be dul}^ executed 
by the contractors; that the said inspectors shall also be, and they are 
hereby, fully empowered and directed to attend to the expenditures of 
public property in the several departments of the Army, and report 
any fraud, neglect of duty, or other misconduct by which the public 
property is wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated, so that the 
party charged therewith may be tried by court-martial on such charges 
exhibited against him by either of the said inspectors; and that neither 
the said inspectors nor the said contractors, or their property, be liable 
to arrest or subject to martial law, except by the express order of the 
Commander in Chief, or commander of the army lo which the inspect¬ 
ors, respectively, shall be appointed, any resolution or act of Congress 
heretofore made notwithstanding. 

That the pay to each inspector be dollars per month in full of 

all allowances. 

That each inspector when appointed shall take an oath for the faith¬ 
ful and impartial execution of the trust reposed in him as inspector 
of the contracts of the Army. 


June 6*, 178^2. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy purveyor for the 
southern hospital; and, the ballots being taken. 

Dr. N. Brownson was elected, having been previouslv nominated by 
Mr. Bland. 

July 28 j 1782. 

Resolved^ That in conducting the business of the general hospital 
there shall be an invariable standard of prices established, by which 
the apothecary shall be charged with every article he shall issue. The 
standard to be established by the medical board, or such person or 
persons as they shall appoint, which shall only be considered as a cer¬ 
tain ratio whereby to keep the accounts. But that in the settlement 
of all accounts in that department all deficient articles, not issued or 
returned, shall be accounted for at such real value as shall be estimated 
by the medical board and approved of by the Secretary at War. . 

An account shall be taken as soon as possible of all'the medicines, 
instruments, and property in the apothecary’s department belonging 
to the public, in the hands of the apothecary, the deputies, assistants, 
and mates, the surgeons of the hospitals, and surgeons of regiments, 
for which they shall severally be charged at the standard value ascer¬ 
tained by the board, as aforesaid, and for all they may hereafter receive, 
but to account for deficiencies at the real value, to be estimated as 
aforesaid. 

The apothecary shall be accountable for all articles in his department 
to the purveyor throughout the States until they come into the hands 
of the prescribers. And all deputies, assistants, and mates shall make 
returns and be accountable to the apothecary for the medicines, instru¬ 
ments, and other property belonging to the public in the department 
now in their hands, and of such as they may hereafter be possessed of. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


399 


The iq)otliecarv shall make up his aeeoimts at the expiration of every 
year, and settle them as soon after as possible, and l)efore the expii’a- 
tion of six months, lie shall, at the same time, make out two returns 
for the director of the hospital, one speeifyin^ what has been received 
and issued and the amount of what remains on hand, the other exhibit¬ 
ing a particular amount of the value of the medicines and other public 
property each prescriber has.received within the year. 

All losses which may happen b}^ the events of war, and other cir¬ 
cumstances unavoidable, shall be borne by the public. In cases of 
losses by fraud or neglect in any deputy, assistant, or mate, the apothe¬ 
cary shall not be accountable for such losses, provided the delimpient 
be convicted thereof before a court-martial appointed to try the same. 

^ The hospital prescribers shall be supplied, upon their own applica¬ 
tion, with medicines and instruments necessary for the sick and 
wounded under their care. 

PA ery rc^giniental surgeon shall receive yearly from the apothecary 
a supply of medicines to such amount, by the above standard, as the 
medical board shall judge necessary. 

Every prescribing surgeon or physician, either in hospital or with 
the Army, shall be supplied by the apothecary with such a set of capi¬ 
tal instruments as the medical board shall judge necessary, and shall 
be accountable for all losses in medicines and instruments not arising 
from the events of Avar and other circumstances unavoidable. Dupli¬ 
cates of all returns made by the apothecaiy to the directoi’ shall be 
lodged in the Avar office. 

Jicxolved^ That in the Army of the United States, excepting the 
southern army, at present under the command of iNJajor-General 
(ireene, the offices of assistant purAxyor and assistant apothecary, and 
the storekee|)ers under the purveyor and apothecaiy, except one store¬ 
keeper under the purvcAxr to keep a store near the army, and all the 
clerks, except tAvo to the purveyor, shall hereafter be discontinued. 

That all surgeons of the hospital shall take rank after the director 
of the hospital, dei)uty director, and pln^sician to the Army, in the 
folloAving order, viz: Those sui'geons of the hospital Avho have been 
either deputy director, plysician-general, surgeon-general, chief phy¬ 
sician, or chief surgeon to the hospital or Army shall take rank next 
to the aboAX-mentioned officers, and their relative rank to each other 
shall lie according to the dates of their respective appointments to 
either of the above offices. 

That all such as Avere regimental surgeons Avhen appointed senior 
physician or surgeon to the hospital shall take rank Avith such senior 
ply'sicians and surgeons agreealily to the date of their first appoint¬ 
ment, Avhether to the regiment or hospital. 

All surgeons the date of Avhose first appointments either to regi¬ 
ments or hospitals shall haAX been on the same day shall decide their 
rank ly lot. 

That for the more convenient subsistence of the officers of the hospi¬ 
tal department they be alloAved, including their former allowance of 
rations and forage, as follows: 

The director of the hospital, four rations a day for himself and serv¬ 
ants, forage for tAVo horses, and 25 dollars per month subsistence. 

The deputy director and physician, each three rations a day for him¬ 
self and servtints, forage for tAvo horses, and 20 dollars per month 
subsistence. 


400 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


Hospital surgeons, each two rations per day for himself and servants, 
forage for two horses, and 15 dollars per month subsistence. 

Deputy purveyor and deputy apothecary, each one ration per day, 
forage for one horse, and 10 dollars per month subsistence. 

Hospital mates, each one ration per day and 5 dollars per month 
subsistence. 

Stewards, each one I'ation per day and 5 dollars per month sub¬ 
sistence. 

Ward masters, each one ration per day and 3 dollars per month 
subsistence. 

That the above allowance of rations, forage, and subsistence to the 
officers of the hospital department, over and above what they were 
severally entitled to at the time of passing this act, shall be charged to 
them respectively as advances in part of their monthly pay. 

That in future the pay and allowance of the purveyor and apothecary 
be the same each as that of a hospital surgeon. 

That none of the aforesaid officers, or other persons employed in 
any of the hospitals, be entitled to rations, forage, or subsistence when 
on furlough. 

That the regulations respecting officers’ servants, contained in the 
act of Congress of the 11th of March, 1780, shall not be construed to 
extend to the hospital department. 

November 12, 1782. —“Lt. Crook, of the 10th Massachusetts regt,, is appointed to 
superintend the hospital at New VVindsor, vice the captain ordered for that duty the 
10th instant.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 


Decmiber 5, 1782. 

Resolved., That after the fore-mentioned period [the last day of 
December inst.], in lieu of the pay and rations allowed to officers of 
the hospital department, including rations for servants, they shall be 
entitled to the following monthly pa}^ and subsistence; provided . . . 
that when the said subsistence money shall not be paid, they shall be 
entitled to draw an equivalent number of rations at the rate of four 
dollars for each ration per month, viz: 

The director, 102 dollars pay and 60 dollars subsistence. 

The deputy director and physician, each 100 dollars pay and 48 dol¬ 
lars subsistence. 

The surgeons, each 90 dollars pay and 40 dollars subsistence. 

^ Apothecary and purveyor, each 92 dollars pay and 32 dollars sub¬ 
sistence. 

Deputy apothecary and deputy purveyor, each 59 dollars pay and 16 
dollars subsistence. 

Mates, each 42 dollars pay and 12 dollars subsistence. 

Stewards, each 31 dollars pay and 8 dollars subsistence. 

Ward masters, each 21 dollars pay and 8 dollars subsistence. 

April 17, 1783. 

Resolved, That immediate measures be taken for the sale of . . . 

all such articles in the several military departments as may not be 
necessary for the use of the Army, previous to its reduction, or for 
the formation of magazines on a peace establishment. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


401 


May 16, 1783. 

Resolved, That the commutation in lieu of half pay ... to the 
officers of the medical department and medical staff shall be calculated 
by what they are respectively entitled to, agreeably to the resolutions 
of the 17th of Januaiy and 8th of May, 1781. 

October 31 j 1783 .—Congress reported that Doctors Tilton, Otto (Bodo), Fredk. Otto, 
and Martin, of the hospital department, had accepted the commutation of 5 years’ 
pay in lieu of half pay for life. 

Jamtary '21f, 178Jf.. 

Resolved, That the principals in the several departments of . . . 

the hospital be, and they are hereby, ordered to transmit, as soon as 
may be, to the AVar Office, to be laid before Congress, exact returns of 
all the stores in their respective departments, specifying the quantity 
and quality of each article, where deposited, in whose care, and in 
what manner secured. 


Septemhei' 6, 1785. 

Ordered, That the Secretary at AA^ar, as soon as may be, cause to be 
made and transmitted to Congress an exact return of all . . . 

public stores, or property of every description, the custody of which 
is charged on the AVar Department; distinguishing the quantity or 
number, quality, and kind of each, and the several places of their 
deposits; and that he transmit a like return on the hrst Monday in 
January and the first Monday in July annually. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of April 30, 1790 {1 Stats., 119). 

AN ACT for regulating the military establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the troops aforesaid shall receive for their services 
the following enumerated monthly rates of pay: . . . Surgeons, 

thirty dollars; surgeons’ mates, twenty-four dollars; . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall receive for 
their daily subsistence the following number of rations of provisions, 
to wit: ... A surgeon, three; a surgeon’s mate, two; . . . 

Act of Afarch 3, 1791 (1 Stats., «). 

AN ACT foi raising and adding another regiment to the military establishment of 
the United States, and for making further provision for the protection of the 
frontiers. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That in case the nature of the service upon which the troops 
of the United States may be employed should require a greater num¬ 
ber of surgeons’ mates than are provided for in the before-mentioned 
act (April 30, 1790), the President of the United States may engage 
from time to time such additional number of surgeons’ mates as he 
shall judge necessary. 


S. Doc. 229-26 



402 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of March <5, 179^2 {1 Stats., 2JA)- 

AN ACT for making further and more effectual provision for the protection of the 
frontiers of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. T. That the monthly pay of the commissioned officers . . . 

shall be, in future, as follows, free of all deductions, to wit: 

General staff— . . . Surgeon, seventy dollars . . . 

* -X- * 

Act of Alay 8, 1792 {1 Stats., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Treasury and "War Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That all purchases and contracts for supplying the Army 
with ... all other supplies or articles for the use of the Depart¬ 
ment of War be made by or under the direction of the Treasury 
Department. 

* * * 


Act of February 23, 1795 {1 Stats., Jfl9). 

AN ACT to establish the office of purveyor of public supplies.^ 

Sec. 1. That there shall be in the Department of the Treasury an 
officer to be denominated ‘‘purveyor of public supplies,” whose duty 
it shall be, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, to conduct the procuring and providing of . . . all arti¬ 
cles of supply requisite for the service of the United States, . . . 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 1795 {1 Stats., JfSO). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military establishment of the United 
States, and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed on that subject. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the monthly pay of the officers, noncommissioned 
officers, musicians, and privates on the military establishment of the 
United States be as follows, to wit: 

General staff— . . . Surgeon, $70 . . . 

Sec. 11. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations 
of provisions, to wit: . . . ; a surgeon, as well hospital as regi¬ 
mental, three rations; a surgeon’s mate, two rations; . . . 

Sec. 12. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever for¬ 
age shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the fol¬ 
lowing-enumerated sums per month instead thereof, to wit: . 
Surgeon-General, . . . twelve dollars; . . . surgeon, . . . 

ten dollars; . . . surgeon’s* mate, ... six dollars; . . . 

* * * 


^Abolished, after May 31, 1812, by the act of March 28, 1812. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


403 


Ac^ of May 28, 1798 (1 Stats., 558.) 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to raise a provisional army. 
* * * 

Sec. T. That in case the President shall judge the employment of 
a . . . physician-general, . . . essential to the public inter¬ 

est, he is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to appoint the same accordingly, who shall be entitled to the 
rank, pay, and emoluments which follow, viz, . . . physician- 

general . . . the pay and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel: 

Provided, That in case the President shall judge it expedient to appoint 
a . . . physician-general . . . in the recess of the Senate, 

he is hereby authorized to make any or all of said appointments, and 
grant commissions thereon, which shall expire at the end of the next 
session of the Senate thereafter. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the . . . physician-general . . . who may be 

appointed by virtue of this act, shall . . . continue in commission 
during such term only as the President shall judge requisite for the 
public service. . . . 

Sec. 10. That no commission or staff officer, who shall be appointed 
by virtue of this act, shall be entitled to receive pay and emoluments 
until he shall be called in actual service, nor for any longer time than 
be shall continue therein. ... 

* * * 

Act of July 16, 1798 {1 Stats., 610). 

AN ACT to alter and amend the several acts for the establishment and regulation of 
the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service of the United States shall be made by 

or under the direction of the chief officers of the Department of War, 
. . . and all agents or contractors for supplies or services as afore¬ 

said shall render their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the 
proper department for which such supplies or services are required, 
subject nevertheless to the inspection and revision of the officers of the 
Treasury in manner before prescribed. 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the purveyor of public supplies 
to execute all such orders as he may, from time to time, receive from 
the Secretary of W ar . . . relative to the procuring and provid¬ 

ing of all kinds of stores and supplies; and shall render his accounts 
relative thereto to the accountants of the proper departments, which 
accounts shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the officers 
of the Treasury as aforesaid. 

Sec. 6. That the provision of the act passed on the eighth day of 
May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, intituled "‘An act 
making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments,” and the 
act passed on the twenty-third day of February, one thousand seven 
hundred and ninety-five, intituled “An act to establish the office of 
purveyor of public supplies,” so far as the same are repugnant to the 
provisions of this act, be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 


404 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 6. That all contracts to be made, by virtue of this act, or of any 
law of the United States, and requiring the advance of money, or to be 
in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, shall 
be deposited in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury of the 
United States within ninety days after their dates, respectively. 

Act of March 1799 {1 Stats., 721). 

AN ACT to regulate the medical establishment. 

Sec. 1. That in the medical establishment of the United States there 
shall be the following officers: A ph^^sician-general, who shall be charged 
with the superintendence and direction of all military hospitals, and, 
generally, of all medical and chirurgical practice or service concei-ning 
the Army or Navy of the United States, and of all persons who shall be 
employed in and about the same, in camps, garrisons, and hospitals. 
An apothecary-general, and one or more deputies, who shall be charged 
with the safe-keeping and delivery of all medicines, instruments, dress¬ 
ings, and other articles for the use of the hospital and Army. A pur¬ 
veyor, who shall be charged with providing medicines, stores, and 
whatsoever else may be necessary in relation to the said practice or 
service. A competent number of hospital surgeons, who shall be liable 
to serve in the field, and who shall have the immediate charge and 
direction of such military hospitals as may be committed to their care, 
respectively. A suitable number of hospital mates, who are to observe 
the directions of the hospital surgeons and shall diligently perform all 
reasonable duties required of them for the recovery of the sick and 
’wounded. 

Sec. 2. That each military hospital shall have a steward, with a 
competent number of nurses and other attendants; which steward shall 
be charged with the procuring of such supplies as may not otherwise 
be furnished and with the safe-keeping and issuing of all supplies. 

Sec. 3. That the said physician-general, hospital surgeons, purveyor, 
and apothecary and apothecaries, deputy or deputies, shall be appointed 
as other officers of the United States; that the said mates and stewards 
shall be appointed by the authority and at the direction of the said 
physician-general, subject to the eventual approbation and control of 
the President of the United States, and shall be removable by the 
authority of the said physician-general; and that the surgeon of each 
hospital shall appoint, employ, and fix the compensation of the nurses 
and other attendants of such hospital, subject to the control of the said 
physician-general, or the hospital surgeon of senior appointment, with 
a separate army, or in a separate district. 

Sec. 4. That as often as the regimental sick will not sutfer by the 
employing of the regimental surgeons or mates in the temporary or 
other hospitals of the U nited States, the physician-general, or the hos¬ 
pital surgeon, or senior appointment, with a separate army, or in a 
separate district, with the consent of the general and Commander in 
Chief, or the officer commanding a separate army may require the 
attendance of such surgeons, or surgeon’s mates, as, in his opinion, 
can be with safety so withdrawn from their regiments. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the physician-general, with two 
or more hospital surgeons, to frame a system of directions relative to 


THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 


405 


the description of patients to be admitted into the hospitals; to the 
means of promoting* cleanliness in the hospitals; to the prevention of 
idleness, skulking, and gambling in the hospitals; to the prevention 
of the spread of infectious distempers in the camps and hospitals, and 
the government of nurses and all others charged with the care of the 
sick in camps and hospital, subject, in the first instance, to the appro¬ 
bation and revision of the Commander in Chief, the commander of a 
separate army, or in a separate district, as the case ma}^ be, and, eventu- 
ally, to the approbation and control of the President of the United 
States: Provided always^ That the said directions, having.received the 
sanction of the Commander in Chief, or the commander of a separate 
army, shall be operative, and remain in full force, unless altered or 
annulled by the President of the United States. 

Sec. 6. That the compensations of the said several officers shall be 
as follows: Of the physician-general, one hundred dollars pay per 
month, and fifty dollars per month, which shall be in full compensation 
for forage, rations, and travelling expenses; of the purveyor, one 
hundred dollars pay per month in full compensation for his services, 
and all expenses; of the apothecary-general, eighty dollars pay per 
month, and thirty dollars per month in full compensation for forage, 
rations, and all expenses; of each of his deputies, fifty dollars pay per 
month, and sixteen dollars per month in full compensation for forage, 
rations, and all expenses; of each hospital surgeon, eighty dollars pa}^ 
per month, and forty dollars per month in full compensation for 
forage, rations, and all expenses; of each mate, thirty dollars pay per 
month, and twenty dollars per month in full compensation for forage, 
rations, and all expenses; of each steward, twenty-five dollars pa}" per 
month, and eight dollars per month in full compensation for forage, 
rations, and all expenses: Provided^ That none of the officers aforesaid 
shall be entitled to any part of the pay or emoluments aforesaid until 
they shall, respectively, be called into actual service. 

Sec. 7. That, for the accommodation of the sick of the Army and 
Navy of the United States, the physician-general and the hospital 
surgeon of senior appointment, with the approbation of the general 
commanding the army within the district where he shall be, shall have 
the power to provide temporary hospitals; and the physician-general, 
with the approbation of the President of the United States, shall have 
power to provide and establish permanent hospitals. 

Sec. 8. That all the said officers and others shall, as touching their 
several offices and duties, be liable to the rules and regulations for the 
government and discipline of the Army; and shall be bound to obey, 
in conformity with law and t*he usages and customs of armies, the orders 
and directions of the chief militai*}^ officers of the respective armies, 
and within the respective districts in which they shall respectively serve 
and be. 

Sec. 9. That the physician-general, or, in his absence, the senior 
medical officer, with the approbation of the Commander in Chief or 
commanding officer of a separate army, be, and hereby is, authorized 
and empowered, as often as may be judged necessary, to call a medical 
board, which shall consist of the three senior medical officers then pres¬ 
ent, whose duty it shall be to examine all candidates for employment or 
promotion in the hospital department, and to certify to the Secretary 
of War the qualifications of each. 


406 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of Alarch 3, 1799 {1 Stats., 7f9\ 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 24. That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of War to cause to 
be provided in each and every year all . . . medicines and hospital 

stores necessary for the troops and armies of the United States for the 
succeeding year, and for this purpose to make purchases and enter or 
(*ause to be entered into all necessary contracts and obligations for 
elfecting the same. 

* -X- * 


Act of March 16, 1803 (3 Stats., 133). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* -x- -X- 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . two surgeons, twenty-five 
surgeon’s mates, to be attached to the garrisons or posts, and not to 
corps. 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . be as fol¬ 

lows, to wit: ... to each surgeon, forty-five dollars; to each 
surgeon’s mate, thirty dollars. . . . 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their dail}^ subsistence the following number of rations 
of provisions: ... a surgeon, three rations; a surgeon’s mate, 
two rations ... or money in lieu thereof, at the option of the 
said officers . . . at the posts, respectively, where the rations 

shall become due; and if at such post supplies are not furnished by 
contract, then such allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having 
reference to former contracts and the position of the place in question; 
. . . to such matrons and nurses as may be necessaril}’' employed 

in the hospital, one ration each. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 7. That the following officers shall, whenever forage is not 
furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the following sums per 
month in lieu thereof: . . . each surgeon, ten dollars; and each 

surgeon’s mate, six dollars. 

* * * 


Act of March 36, 1801^ (3 Stats., 390). 

AN ACT in addition to “An act for fixing the military peace establishment in the 

United States.” 

That there shall be appointed, in addition to the surgeon’s mates 
provided for by the “Act fixing the military peace establishment of 
the United States,” as many surgeon’s mates, not exceeding six, as the 
President of the United States may judge necessary, to be attached to 
garrisons or posts, agreeably to the provisions of the said act. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


407 


Act of AfTil 12, 1808 (2 Stats., 4B1). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That when, in the opinion of the President of the United 
States, a suitable proportion of the troops authorized by this act shall 
be raised, there may be appointed . . . such number of hospital 

surgeons and surgeon’s mates as the service may require, but not 
exceeding five surgeons and fifteen mates, with one steward and one 
ward master to each hospital. . . . 

^ Sec. 4. That the compensation of the officers . . . noncommis¬ 
sioned officers . . . authorized by this act shall be, viz: . . . 

each hospital surgeon, seventy-five dollars per month, six rations per 
day, or an equivalent in money, twelve dollars per month for forage, 
when not furnished as aforesaid; each hospital surgeon’s mate, forty 
dollars per month, two rations per day, or an equivalent in money, 
and six dollars per month for forage, when not furnished as aforesaid; 
each hospital steward, twenty dollars per month, and two rations per 
day, or an equivalent in money; each ward master, sixteen dollars per 
month, and two rations per day, or an equivalent in money; . . . 

Provided, The officers . . . furnish their own horses and accou¬ 

trements, and actually keep in service the aforesaid number of horses 
to entitle them to the aforegoing allowance for forage, or its equivlent 
in money. ... 

. * * * 

Sec. 8. That in the recess of the Senate the President of the United 
States is hereby authorized to appoint all or any of the officers, other 
than the general officers, proper to be appointed under this act; which 
appointment shall be submitted to the Senate, at the next session, for 
their advice and consent. 

Sec. 9. That every . . . staff officer to be appointed in virtue 

of this act shall be a citizen of the United States, or some one of the 
Territories thereof. 

Act of January 11, 1812 {2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 4. That there shall be appointed . . . such number of 

hospital surgeons and mates as the service may require, with one stew¬ 
ard to each hospital. 

* * * 

Act of March S, 1813 {2 Stats., 816). 

AN ACT the better to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, 
and for the accountability of persons entrusted with the same. 

Sec. 2. [That the superintendent-general of military supplies shall] 
prescribe the forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and 
supplies purchased, on hand, distributed, used, or sold, to be rendered 
by . . . the hospital surgeons and other officers belonging to the 

Hospital and Medical Departments. . . . 


408 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OE GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 3. That ... the principal hospital surgeons and officers 
belonging to the Hospital and Medical Departments . . . shall 

render quarterly accounts of the disposition and state of all such stores 
and supplies to the superintendent aforesaid, and shall also make such 
other returns respecting the same, and at such other times as the Sec¬ 
retary for the War Department may prescribe: Provided^ however^ That 
the accounts and returns thus rendered shall relate to the articles of 
supply only, which may have been received and disposed of, or as may 
remain on hand, and shall not embrace the specie accounts for monies 
disbursed by such officers, . . . which specie accounts shall be 

rendered as heretofore to the accountant for the War Department. 

Sec. 4. That the officers . . . who may receive monies in advance 

from the War Department shall render quarterly accounts to the 
accountant of the said Department of their specie receipts and dis¬ 
bursements, and shall moreover make such other monthly summary 
statements thereof to the Secretary of the said Department as he may 
prescribe. ... 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 1813 {3 Stats., 819). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That for the better superintendence and management of the 
hospital and medical establishment of the Army of the United States, 
there shall be a physician and surgeon general, with an annual salary 
of two thousand five hundred dollars, and an apothecary-general with 
an annual salary of eighteen hundred dollars, whose respective duties 
and powers shall be prescribed by the President of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 11. That all letters and packets to and from the . . . phy¬ 

sician and surgeon general and apothecary-general which relate to 
their official duties shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Act of Alarch 30, I 8 IJ 4 , (3 Stats., 113). 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That from and after the first day of June next, the officers 
of the Army shall be entitled to waiters agreeable to grade, as follows: 
. . . hospital surgeon, each one. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the President of the United States be authorized to 
appoint so many assistant apothecaries as the service may, in his judg¬ 
ment, require, each of wffiom shall receive the same pay and emolu¬ 
ments as a regimental surgeon’s mate. 

* * * 

Sec. 18. That the physician and the surgeon-general of the Army be 
entitled to two rations per day and forage for two horses. . . . 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


409 


Act of Marchs, IS 10 {,') StaU., 


AN ACT fixing tlie luiiiUry pea™ estiibiisliinent of tlio Unitod States. 

* -X- -x- 

Sec. 3. lhat there shall be . . . such number of hospital sur¬ 

geons and suro-eon’s mates as the servdce may require, not exceeding 
live surgeons and fifteen mates, with one steward and one ward master 
to each hospital. 

* * -X- 

May 1 1 , 1815 . . . . And the President of the United States has further judged 
proijer that, in addition to the provision for a general staff, which is specifically made 
by the act of Congress, certain officers shall be retained, under the special authority 
pyen by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge, without material 
injury to the service; and that the following shall be the 

GENERAL STAFF. 

* * * 

An apothecary-general and two assistant apothecaries, to be provisionally retained. 

Five hospital surgeons. 

Fifteen hospital surgeon’s mates. 

Two garrison surgeon’s, to be provisionally retained. 

Ten garrison surgeon’s mates, to be provisionally retained. 

* * * 

[General Ordens, A. and I. G.’s Office.) 


Act of April 1810 [3 Stats., 207). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 

That . . the apothecary-general, as heretofore authorized, be 

allowed two assistant apothecaries. 

Sec. 2. That the medical staff shall be so extended that there shall 
be four hospital surgeons and eight hospital surgeoirs mates to each 
division, with as many post surgeons as the service may require, not 
exceeding twelve to each division, who shall receive the same pay and 
emoluments as hospital surgeon’s mates. 

* * * 

Act of Alar ch 18, 1818 (3 Stats., 1^,10). 

AN ACT to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the 
United States, in the Revolutionary war. 

That . . . all officers in the hospital department and medical 

staff who served in the war of the Revolution until the end thereof, 
or for the term of nine months, or longer, at any period of the war, 
in the continental establishment . . . who is yet a resident citizen 

of the United States, and who is, or hereafter, by reason of his reduced 
circumstances in life, shall be, in need of assistance from his country 
for support, and shall have substantiated his claim to a pension in the 
manner hereinafter directed, shall receive a pension from the United 
States; if an officer, of twenty dollars per month during life; . . 

Provided, No person shall be entitled to the provisions of this act 
until he shall have relinquished his claim to every pension heretofore 
allowed him by the laws of the United States. 


410 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of April U, 1818 {S Stats., m). 

AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 

That so much of the act “fixing the military peace establishment 
of the United States,” passed the third of March, one thousand eight 
hundred and fifteen, as relates to hospital stewards and ward masters, 
and so much of the “Act for organizing the general staff, and making 
further provision for the Army of the United States,” passed April 
twenty-fourth, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, as relates to 
hospital surgeons, hospital surgeons’ mates, . . . be, and the same 

is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 2. That there shall be one Surgeon-General, with a salary of two 
thousand five hundred dollars per annum, one assistant surgeon- 
general, with the emoluments of a hospital surgeon, . . . and that 

the number of post surgeons be increased, not to exceed eight to each 
division. 

* * * 

May 1820 {3-567). —Section 5 of this act authorizes the President to direct a 
portion of the money appropriated respectively for the service of the Quartermaster’s, 
Subsistence, and Medical departments to be applied to any other of the above- 
mentioned branches of expenditure. 

Act of May 8, 18W (3 Stats., 570). 

AN ACT further to regulate the Medical Department of the Army. 

That the apothecary-general and assistant apothecaries-general shall 
severally give bonds to the United States, with good and sufficient 
security, for the faithful performance of their duties, in such sums as 
shall be required by the Surgeon-General of the Army, under the 
direction of the War Department. 

Act of March 1821 {3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

-x- * * 

Sec. 10. That the Medical Department shall consist of one Surgeon- 
General, eight surgeons, with the compensation of regimental sur¬ 
geons, and forty-five assistant surgeons, with the compensation of post 
surgeons. 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 1825 Stats., 127). 

AN ACT to authorize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military stores. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to cause to be sold any . . . military stores, or . . . med¬ 

ical supplies, which, upon proper inspection or survey, shall appear to 
be damaged or otherwise unsuitable for the public service, whenever, 
in his opinion, the sale of such unserviceable stores will be advantageous 
to the public service. 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or survey of unserviceable stores shall 
be made by an inspector-general, or such other officer or officers as the 
Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose; and the sales shall 
be made under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the 
Secretary of War. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


411 


Act of June 28, 1832 Stats., 1)50), 

AN ACT to increase the number of surgeons and assistant surgeons in the Army of 

the United States. 

That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint four additional surg*eons 
and ten additional surgeons’ mates in the Army of the United States. 

Act of June SO, 183Ii, {1^, Stats., 71Ji), 

AN ACT to increase and regulate the pay of the surgeons and assistant surgeons of 

the Army. 

That from and after the passing of this act no person shall receive 
the appointment of assistant surgeon in the Army of the United States 
unless he shall have been examined and approved by an army medical 
board, to consist of not less than three surgeons or assistant surgeons, 
who shall be designated for that purpose by the Secretary of War; 
and no person shall receive the appointment of surgeon in the Army 
of the United States unless he shall have served at least five years as 
an assistant surgeon, and unless also he shall have been examined by 
an army medical board, constituted as aforesaid. 

Sec. 2. That the surgeons in the Arm}^ of the United States shall 
be entitled to receive the pay and emoluments of a major; and the 
assistant surgeons who shall have served five years shall be entitled to 
receive the pay and emoluments of a captain; and those who shall 
have served less than five years, the pay and emoluments of a first 
lieutenant, and that the said assistant surgeons shall be entitled to 
receive the same allowance for forage as they are at present entitled to. 

Sec. 3. That every surgeon and assistant surgeon who shall have 
served faithfully ten years in these grades, respectively, shall be 
entitled to receive an increase of rations per day equal to the number 
of rations to which he may be entitled under this act. 

Act of July i, 1836 {5 Stats., 117). 

AN ACT authorizing the appointment of additional paymasters, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized and empowered to appoint three additional surgeons 
and five assistant surgeons, to be attached to the medical staff of the 
Armv. 

* * * 

Act of July 5, 1838 [5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the stewards of hospitals at posts of more than four 
companies be hereafter allowed the pay, clothing, and rations of a 
sergeant of ordnance, and at all other posts the pay, clothing, and 
rations of the first sergeant of a company of infantry. 


412 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 15. That every commissioned officer of the ... staff, 
exclusive of general officers, shall be entitled to receive one additional 
ration per diem for every five years he may have served or shall serve 
in the Army of the United States. . . . 

* * -X- 

Sec. 21. That all letters and packages on public business, to and 
from . . . the Surgeon-General . . . shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Sec. 24. That hereafter the officers of the . . . Medical Depart¬ 

ment of the Army shall receive the pay and emoluments of officers of 
cav^alry of the same grades, respectively, according to which they are 
now paid by existing laws. 

* * * 

Sec. 33. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint seven addi¬ 
tional surgeons; and that the officers whose appointment is authorized 
in this section shall receive the pay and allowances of officers of the 
same grades, respective^. 

Act of July 7, 1838 {6 Stats,, 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled “An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purposes,” approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

* * * 

Ninth. That the said act shall be so construed as to allow the » 
Surgeon-General of the Army the additional rations therein granted 
to officers of the line and staff' for every five years’ service. 

Act of August 23, 181^ {5 Stats., 612). 

AN ACT respecting the organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That within one month after the passage of this act the 
offices of . . ., two surgeons, and ten assistant surgeons of the 

Army shall be abolished, and that number of . . . surgeons and 

assistant surgeons shall be discharged by the President, and they shall 
be allowed three months’ pay in addition to the pay and emoluments 
to which the}^ may be entitled at the time of their discharge. 

* * * 

Act of June 18,181fi (9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled “An act providing for the prosecution of 
the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico,” and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service 
of the United States in such numbers that the officers of the . . . 

medical departments authorized by law be not sufficient to . . . 

furnishing them with the requisite medical attention, it shall be lawful 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


413 


for the President to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
as many additional officers of said departments as the service may 
require, not exceeding . . . one surgeon and one assistant surgeon 

for each regiment; . . . the said surgeons and assistant surgeons 

to perform such duties as the President shall direct: Provided^ That 
the said officers shall he allowed the same pay and emoluments as are 
now allowed to officers of the same descriptions and grades in those 
departments, respectively ; that they be subject to the rules and arti¬ 
cles of war, and continue in service only so long as their services shall 
be required in connection with the militia or volunteers. 

-x- * * 

Act of P^ehruary 11^ 18JA {9 Stats. ^ 1^3). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force, and for other 

purposes. 

-X- . ■ * 

Sec. 8. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint two additional 
surgeons, and twelve additional assistant surgeons in the Regular Army 
of the United States, subject to the provisions of an act entitled “An 
act to increase and regulate the pay of the surgeons and assistant sur¬ 
geons of the Army,” approved »lune thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 
thirty-four; and that the officers whose appointment is authorized l)y 
this section shall receive the pa}^ and allowances of officers of the same 
grades, respectively; and that the rank of the officers of the Medical 
Department of the Army shall be arranged upon the same basis which 
at present determines the amount of their pay and emoluments: Pro¬ 
vided., That the medical officers shall not, in virtue of such rank, be 
entitled to command in the line or other stall' departments of the Army. 

-x- * -x- 

.Tidy 10, 1848 {9-246 ).— Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted 
men in the several corps of the Army. 

Act of July 19, ms {9 Stats., 2JA). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act supplemental to an act entitled ‘An 
act providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States 
and the Republic of Mexico,’ ” and for other purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 3. That so much of said act passed on the eleventh of February, 
one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, as requires the discharge 
at the close of the war with Mexico of two additional surgeons and 
twelve additional assistant surgeons, as authorized by the eighth sec¬ 
tion of said act, . . . be, and the same is hereby, repealed: Pro¬ 

vided, That no vacancy happening under the provisions so repealed shall 
be filled up until further authorized by law. . . 

* * * 

Act of March 18If) {9 Stats., 351). 

AN ACT to provide for an increase of the medical staff and for an additional number 
of chaplains of the Army of the United States. 

That so much of section third of an act entitled “An act to amend 
an act entitled ‘An act supplemental to an act entitled an act providing 
•for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and 


414 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

the Republic of Mexico, and for other purposes,’” approved July 
nineteenth, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, as prevents the filling of 
vacancies in the Medical Department of the Army, until further 
authorized by law, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 2. That the medical staff of the Army be increased by the 
addition of ten assistant surgeons, to be appointed as provided by 
existing laws and the regulations made under them. 

* * * 

September 28, 1850 Moneys received from the sale of military stores and 

other supplies exempted from operation of act of March 8, 1849, requiring certain 
moneys to be paid into the Treasury without abatement or reduction. 


Act of March J, 1861 (9 Stats., 596). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid and dis¬ 
abled soldiers of the Army of the United States. 

-X- * * 

That . . . the Surgeon-General . . . shall be ex officio 

commissioners of the same, . 

* * * * 


Act of August 16, 1866^ {11 Stats., 51). 

AN ACT providing for a necessary increase and better organization of the Medical 
and Hospital Department of the Army. 

That there be added to the Medical Department of the Army four 
surgeons and eight assistant surgeons, to be appointed in accordance 
with the existing laws. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized 
to appoint, from the enlisted men of the Army, or cause to be enlisted, 
as many competent hospital stewards as the service may require, not 
to exceed one for each military post, and said hospital stewards to be 
mustered and paid on hospital muster rolls as noncommissioned staff 
officers, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a sergeant of ordnance, 
and to be permanently attached to the Aledical and Hospital Depart¬ 
ment, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary 
of War. 

* * * 


Act of June 21, 1860 {12 Stats., 6“J). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth June, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one. 

^ * 

Sec. 2. That there shall be added to the Medical Corps of the Armj^ 
four surgeons and four assistant surgeons, to be appointed in accord¬ 
ance with the existing laws. 

* * * 


^ Section 3 allows extra pay to soldiers acting as cooks and nurses in hospitals. 



THE MEDICAL DEPAETMEHT. 


415 


Act of June 1860 {12 Stats. ^ 91). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one. 

‘ 3 ^ ^ 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal serv¬ 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of articles, or performance of the service, shall be made by advertising, 
a sufficient time previously, for proposals respectino- the same. W hen 
immediate delivery or performance is required by the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are 
usually bought and .sold, or such services engaged between individuals. 
No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be 
authorized by law or be under an appropriation adequate to its fulfill¬ 
ment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, subsist¬ 
ence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, shall 
not exceed the necessities of the current year. No arms nor military 
supplies whatever, which are of a patented invention, shall be pur¬ 
chased, nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, 
unless the same shall be authorized by law, and the appropriation 
therefor explicitl}" set forth that it is for such patented invention. 

* -x- * 


Act of Fehruary 21., 1861 {12 Stats. ^ HI')- 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thirtieth, 
of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled, ‘‘An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 
the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one,” approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty, be and the same is hereby repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented firearms, as to which 
the said section shall still be in force. 

* * * 

Act of Afarch 2^ 1861 {12 Stats.., 21Jf). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal serv¬ 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of the article or articles, or performance of the service, shall be made 
by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting 
the same. When immediate delivery or performance is required by 
the public exigency, the articles or service required may be procured 


416 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

by open purchase or contract at the places and in the manner in which 
such articles are usually bought and sold, or such services engaged 
between individuals. No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made 
unless the same be authorized by law or be under an appropriation 
adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War . . . Departments, 

for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, 
which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. 
And the third section of the act entitled ‘‘An act making appropria¬ 
tions for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Gov¬ 
ernment for the year ending the thirtieth [twenty-third] of June, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-one,” shall be, and the same is hereby, 
repealed. 


Act of July 1861 {m Stats., 268). 

AN ACT to authorize the einployment of volunteers to aid in enforcing the laws and 
protecting public property 

* -X- -X- 

Seo. 8. . . . Each brigade . . . shall have . . . one 

surgeon. 

-x- * * 

Act of August 2 , 1861 {12 Stats., 287.) 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 

* -x- -X- 

Sec. 2. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,, in addition 
to the number authorized by existing laws and in accordance with 
existing regulations, . . . ten surgeons and twenty assistant sur¬ 

geons, to have the pay, rank, and allowances, and perform the duties 
of similar officers in the present military establishment. . . . 

■X- * * 

Sec. 5. That there be added to the medical staff of the Army a corps 
of medical cadets, whose duty it shall be to act as dressers in the gen¬ 
eral hospitals, and as ambulance attendants in the field, under the 
direction and control of the medical officers alone. They shall have the 
same rank and pay as the military cadets at West Point. Their num¬ 
ber shall be regulated by the exigencies of the service, at no time to 
exceed fifty. It shall be composed of young men of liberal education, 
students of medicine, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three, 
who have been reading medicine for two years, and have attended at 
least one course of lectures in a medical college. They shall enlist for 
one year, and be subject to the rules and articles of war. On the 
fifteenth day of the last month of their service the near approach of 
their discharge shall be reported to the Surgeon-General, in order, if 
desired, that they may be relieved by another detail of applicants. 

Sec. 6. That in general or permanent hospitals female nurses may 
be substituted for soldiers when, in the opinion of the Surgeon-General 
or medical officer in charge, it is expedient to do so; the number of 
female nurses to be indicated by the Surgeon-General or surgeon in 
charge of the hospital. The nurses so employed to receive forty cents 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


417 


a day and one ration in kind, or by conimutation, in lieu of all emolu¬ 
ments except transportation in kind. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That there may be allowed in hospitals, to be provided under 
such rules as the Surgeon-General of the Army, with the approval of 
the Secretary of War, may prescribe such quantities of fresh or pre¬ 
served fruits, milk or butter, and of eggs as may be necessary for the 
proper diet of the sick. 

* * * 

Act of April 16, 186^2 {12 Stats., 378). 

AN ACT to reorganize and increase the efficiency of the Medical Department of 

the Army. 

That there shall be added to the present Medical Corps of the Army 
ten surgeons and ten assistant surgeons, to be promoted and appointed 
under existing laws; twenty medical cadets, and as many hospital 
stewards as the Surgeon-General may consider necessary for the public 
service; and that their pay and that of all hospital stewards in the 
volunteer as well as the regular service shall be thirty dollars per 
month, to be computed from the passage of this act. And all med¬ 
ical cadets in the service shall, in addition to their pay, receive one 
ration per day, either in kind or commutation. 

Sec. 2. That the Surgeon-General to be appointed under this act 
shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general. 
There shall be one assistant surgeon-general and one medical inspector- 
general of hospitals, each with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a 
colonel of cavalry; and the medical inspector-general shall have, under 
the direction of the Surgeon-General, the supervision of all that 
relates to the sanitary condition of the Army, whether in transports, 
quarters, or camps, and of the hygiene, police, discipline, and effi¬ 
ciency of field and general hospitals, under such regulations as may 
hereafter be established. 

Sec. 3. That there shall be eight medical inspectors with the ranks, 
pay, and emoluments each of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and who 
shall be charged with the duty of inspecting the sanitary condition of 
transports, quarters, and camps, of field and general hospitals, and 
who shall report to the medical inspector-general, under such regula¬ 
tions as may be hereafter established, all circumstances relating to the 
sanitary condition and wants of the troops and of the hospitals, and 
to the skill, efficiency, and good conduct of the officers and attendants 
connected with the Medical Department. 

Sec. 4. That the Surgeon-General, the assistant surgeon-general, 
medical inspector-general, and medical inspector shall, immediately 
after the passage of this act, be appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, by selection from the Med¬ 
ical Corps of the Army, or from the surgeons in the volunteer service, 
without regard to their rank when so selected, but with sole regard to 
qualifications. 

Sec. 5. That the medical purveyors shall be charged, under the 
direction of the Surgeon-General, with the selection and purchase of 
all medical supplies, including new standard preparations, and of all 
books, instruments, hospital stores, furniture, and other articles 

S. Doc. 229-27 


418 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


recluired for the sick and wounded of the Army. In all cases of emer¬ 
gency the}^ ma}" provide such additional accommodations for the sick 
and wounded of the Arm}", and may transport such medical supplies 
as circumstances may render necessary, under such regulations as may 
hereafter be established, and shall make prompt and immediate issues 
upon all special requisitions made upon them under such circumstances 
by medical officers; and the special requisitions shall consist simply of 
a list of the articles required, the qualities required, dated and signed 
by the medical officers requiring them. 

Sec. 6. That whenever the Inspector-General or any one of the 
medical inspectors shall report an officer of the Medical Corps as dis¬ 
qualified, by age or otherwise, for promotion to a higher grade, or 
unfitted for the performance of his professional duties, he shall be 
reported by the Surgeon-General for examination to a medical board, 
as provided by the seventeenth section of the act approved August 
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. 

Sec. 7. That the provisions of this act shall continue and be in force 
during the existence of the present rebellion and no longer: Provided^ 
however^ That when this act shall expire all officers who shall have 
been promoted from the medical staff of the Army under this act shall 
retain their respective rank in the Army with such promotion as they 
would have been entitled to. 


Act of ALay U, 186^ {m Stats., 385). 

AN ACT to facilitate the discharge of enlisted iiieii for physical disability. 

That the medical Inspector-General or any medical inspector is 
hereby authorized and empowered to discharge from the service of 
the United States any soldier, or enlisted man, with the consent of such 
soldier or enlisted man, in the permanent hospitals, laboring under 
any physical disability which makes it disadvantageous to the service 
that he be retained therein, and the certificate in writing of such 
Inspector-General or medical inspector, setting forth the existence 
and nature of such physical disability, shall be sufficient evidence of 
such discharge: Provided, however. That every such certificate shall 
appear on its face to have been founded on personal inspection of the 
soldier so discharged, and shall specifically describe the nature and 
origin of such disability; ... and report the same to the Adju¬ 
tant-General and the Surgeon-General. 


Act of Afay W, 186P {12 Stats., JfiS). 


AN ACT to authorize the appointment of medical storekeepers and cliaplains of 

hospitals. 


That the Secretary of AVar be authorized to add to the Medical 
Department of the Army medical storekeepers, not exceeding six in 
number, who shall have the pay and emoluments of military store¬ 
keepers in the Quartermaster’s Department, who shall be skilled apoth¬ 
ecaries or druggists, who shall give the bond and security required by 
existing laws for military storekeepers in the Quartermaster’s Depart¬ 
ment, and who shall be stationed at such points as the necessities of 


^ Section 2 authorizes the appointment of a chaplain to each 
whose pay shall be the same as that of a regimental chaplain. 


permanent hospital, 




THE MEDICAL DErAKTMENT. 


41U 


the Army require: Provided^ That the provisions of this act shall 
remain in force only during’ the continuance of the present rebellion. 

* -X- -X- 

June 1S62 {12-411 ).—Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed hy him to 
make contracts, with a iminted letter of instructions and hlank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 


Act of Jxdy 186^2 {12 Stats. ^ 502). 

AN ACT to provide for ad(titional medical officers of the volunteer service. 

That there shall Ite appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, forty surgeons and one hundred and 
twenty assistant surgeons of volunteers, who shall have the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of officers of corresponding grades in the Regular 
Army: Provided^ That no one shall l)e appointed to any position under 
this act unless he shall previously have been examined by a l)oard of 
medical officers to be appointed by the Secretary of War, and that 
vacancies in the grade of surgeon shall be filled by selection from the 
grade of assistant surgeon on the ground of merit oidy: And 'provided 
further., That this act shall continue in force onl}^ during the existence 
of the present rel)ellion. 

Sec. 2. That from and after the passage of this act brigade surgeons 
shall be known and designated as surgeons of volunteers, and shall be 
attached to the general medical staff , under the direction of the Surgeon- 
General; and hereafter such appointments for the medical service of 
the Army shall be appointed surgeons of 'S'olunteers. 

* * * 

July 17, 1862 {12-594 ).—Contractors for military supplies guilty of fraud to be 
subject to the rules and regulations governing the Army. This provision was 
extended by section 7 of the act of July 7, 1864 (13-394), to apply to their agents 
and to all inspectors of military supplies. 


Act of July 17, 1862 {12 Stats., 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the TTnion, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, ai)proved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. * * * 

Sec. It). That the medical purveyors and storekeepers shall give 
bonds in such sums as the Secretary of War may recpiire, with security 
to be approved by him. 

Act of Deceniher 27, 1862 {12 Stats., 688). 

AN ACT to facilitate the discharge of disabled soldiers from the Army, and the 
inspection of convalescent camps and hospitals. 

That there shall be added to the present Medical Corps of the Army 
eight medical inspectors, who shall, immediately after the passage of 
this act, be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, without regard to their rank when so selected, 
but with sole regard to (qualifications, and who shall have the rank, 
pay, and emoluments now authorized by law to officers of that grade. 


420 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 2, That the officers of the medical inspector’s department shall 
be charged, in addition to the duties now assigned to them by existing 
laws, with the duty of making regular and frequent inspections of aU 
military general hospitals and convalescent camps, and shall, upon such 
inspection, designate to the surgeon in charge of such hospitals or 
camps, all soldiers who may be, in their opinion, fit subjects for dis¬ 
charge from the service, on surgeon’s certificate of disability, or suf¬ 
ficiently recovered to be returned to their regiments for duty, and shall 
see that such soldiers are discharged or so returned. And the medical 
inspecting officers are hereby empowered, under such regulations as 
mav be hereafter established, to direct the return to duty or the dis¬ 
charge from the service, as the case may be, of all soldiers designated 
by them. 


Act of March 3, 1863 Stats., 7JA)- 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance 
Department, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 8 . That the officers of the Medical Department shall unite Avith 
the line officers of the Army, under such rules and regulations as shall 
be prescribed by the Secretary of War, in supervising the cooking 
within the same as an important sanitary measure, and that said Med¬ 
ical Department shall promulgate to its officers such regulations and 
instructions as may tend to insure the proper preparation of the ration 
of the soldier. 

* * * 


Act of March 11, 186J^.(13 Stats., W). 

AN ACT to establish a uniform system of ambulances in the armies of the United 

States. 

That the medical director or chief medical officer, of each army corps 
shall, under the control of the medical director of the army to Avhich 
such army corps belongs, have the direction and supervision of all 
ambulances, medicine, and other wagons, horses, mules, harness, and 
other fixtures appertaining thereto, and of all officers and men who 
may be detailed or emplo 3 ^ed to assist him in the management thereof, 
in the army corps in which he may be serving. 

Sec. 2. That the commanding officer of each armj^ corps shall detail 
officers and enlisted men for service in the ambulance corps of such 
army corps, upon the following basis, viz: One captain, who shall be 
commandant of said ambulance corps; one first lieutenant for each 
division in such army corps; one second lieutenant for each brigade in 
such army corps; one sergeant for each regiment in such army corps; 
three privates for each ambulance, and one private for each wagon; 
and the officers and noncommissioned officers of the ambulance corps 
shall be mounted: Provided, That the officers, noncommissioned officers, 
and privates so detailed for each army corps shall be examined by a 
board of medical officers of such army corp&as to their fitness for such 
duty; and that such as are found to be not qualified shall be rejected 
and others detailed in their stead. 


THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 


421 


Sec. 3. That there shall be allowed and furnished to each army corps 
two-horse ambulances, upon the following basis, to wit: Three to each 
regiment of infantry of five hundred men or more; two to each regi¬ 
ment of infantiy of more than two hundred and less than five hundred 
men or more; and one to each regiment of infantry of less than two 
hundred men; two to each regiment of cavalry of five hundred men or 
more; and one to each regiment of cavalry of less than five hundred 
men; one to each battery of artillery, to which battery of artillery it 
shall be permanently attached; to the headquarters of each army corps, 
two such ambulances; and to each division ti’ain of ambulances, two 
army wagons; and ambulances shall be allowed and furnished to divi¬ 
sion brigades and commands not attached to any army corps upon the 
same basis, and each ambulance shall be provided with such number of 
stretchers and other appliances as shall be prescribed by the Surgeon- 
General: Provided^ That the ambulances and wagons herein mentioned 
shall be furnished, so far as practicable, from the ambulances and 
wagons now in the service. 

Sec. 4. That horse and mule litters may be adopted or authorized 
by the Secretary of War, in lieu of ambulances, when judged neces¬ 
sary, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the 
medical director of each army corps. 

Sr:c. 5. That the captain shall be the commander of all the ambu¬ 
lances, medicine, and other wagons in the corps under the immediate 
direction of the medical director or chief medical officer of the army 
corps to which the ambulance corps belongs. He shall pay special 
attention to the condition of the ambulances, wagons, horses, mules, 
harness, and other fixtures appertaining thereto, and see that they are 
at all times in readiness for service; that the ofl[icers and men of the 
ambulance corps are properly instructed in their duties, and that their 
duties are performed, and that the regulations which may be pre¬ 
scribed by the Secretary of War or the Surgeon-General for the gov¬ 
ernment of the ambulance corps are strictly observed by those under 
his command. It shall be his duty to institute a drill in his corps, 
instructing his men in the most easy and expeditious manner of mov¬ 
ing the sick and w'ounded, and to require in all cases that the sick and 
wounded shall be treated with gentleness and care, and that the ambu¬ 
lances and wagons are at all times provided with attendants, drivers, 
horses, mules, and whatever maybe necessary for their efficiency; and 
it shidl be his duty also to see that the ambulances are not used for any 
other purpose than that for which they are designed and ordered. It 
shall be the duty of the medical director or chief medical officer of the 
army corps, previous to a march and previous to and in time of action, 
or whenever it may be necessary to use the ambulances, to issue proper 
oi’ders to the captain for the distribution and management of the 
same, for collecting the sick and wounded and conveying them to their 
destination. And it shall be the duty of the captain, faithfully and 
diligently to execute such orders. And the officers of the ambulance 
corps, including the medical director, shall make such reports from 
time to time as may be required by the Secretary of War, the Surgeon- 
General, and medical director of the Army, or the commanding officer 
of the army corps in which they may be serving; and all reports to 
higher authority than the commanding officer of the army corps shall 
be transmitted through the medical director of the Army to which such 
army corps belongs. 


422 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 6. That the first lieutenant assigned to the ambulance corps for 
a division shall have complete control, under the captain of his corps 
and the medical director of the army corps, of all the ambulances, 
medicine, and other wagons, horses, mules, and men in that portion of 
the ambulance corps. He shall be the acting assistant quartermaster 
for that portion of the ambulance corps, and will receipt for and be 
responsible for all the property belonging to it, and be held responsi¬ 
ble for any deficiency in anything appertaining thereto. He shall have 
a traveling cavalry forge, a blacksmith, and a saddler, who shall be 
under his orders, to enable him to keep his train in order. He shall 
have authorit}^ to draw supplies from the depot quartermaster upon 
requisitions approved by the captain of his corps, the medical director, 
and the commander of the army corps to which he is attached. It shall 
be his duty to exercise a constant supervision over his train in every 
particular, and keep it at all times ready for service. 

Sec. 7. That the second lieutenant shall have command of the portion 
of the ambulance corps for a brigade, and shall be under the immediate 
orders of the first lieutenant, and he shall exercise a careful supervision 
over the sergeants and privates assigned to the portion of the ambu¬ 
lance corps for his brigade; and it shall be the duty of the sergeants 
to conduct the drills and inspections of the ambulances, under his 
orders, of their respective regiments. 

Sec. 8. That the ambulances in the armies of the United States shall 
be used onl}^ for the transportation of the sick and wounded, and, in 
urgent cases only, for medical supplies, and all persons shall be pro¬ 
hibited from using them, or requiring them to be used, for any other 
purpose. It shall l)e the duty of the officers of the ambulance corps to 
report to the commander,of the army corps anj^ violation of the pro¬ 
visions of this section, or any attempt to violate the same. And any 
officer who shall use an ambulance, or require it to be used for any 
other purpose than as provided in this section, shall for the first offense 
be publicly reprimanded l)y the Commander of the army corps in which 
he may be serving, and for the second offense shall be dismissed from 
the service. 

Sec. 9. That no person except the proper medical officers, or the 
officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates of the ambulance corps, 
or such persons as may be especially assigned by competent military 
authority to duty with the ambulance corps for the occasion, shall be 
permitted to take or accompany sick or wounded men to the rear 
either on the march or upon the field of battle. 

Sec. 10. That the officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates 
of the ambulance corps shall be designated by such uniform or in such 
manner as the Secretary of War shall deem proper: Provided, That 
officers and men may be relieved from service in said corps and others 
detailed to the same, subject to the examination provided in the second 
section of this act, in the discretion of the commanders of the armies 
in which they may be serving. 

Sec. 11. That it shall be the duty of the commander of the army 
corps to transmit to the Adjutant-General the names and rank of all 
officers and enlisted men detailed for service in the ambulance corps 
of such army corps, stating the organizations from which they may 
have been so detailed; and if such officers and men belong to volun¬ 
teer organizations, the Adjutant-General shall thereupon notify the 
governors of the several States in which such organizations were 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


423 


raised of their detail for such service, and it shall be the duty of the 
commander of the army corps to report to the Adjutant-General from 
time to time the conduct and behavior of the officers and enlisted men 
of the ambulance corps, and the Adjutant-General shall forward copies 
of such reports, so far as they relate to officers and enlisted men of 
volunteer organizations, to the governors of the States in which such 
organizations were raised. 

Sec. 12. That nothing in this act shall be construed to diminish or 
impair the rightful authority of the commanders of armies, army corps, 
or separate detachments, over the medical and other officers and the 
noncommissioned officers and privates of their respective commands. 

April 9, 1864 {10-46). —Commanders of hospitals to afford to chaplains on duty 
thereat such facilities as may aid them in the performance of their duties. 

July 4, 1864. —Hospital matrons, from and after July 1, to receive $10 per month 
and 1 ration. 


Act of Fchruary 26., 1865 {13 Stats.., 461)• 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the INIedical Corps of the Army. 


That the medical director of an army in the field consisting of two 
or more army corps, and the medical director of a military depart¬ 
ment in which there are United States general hospitals containing 
four thousand beds or upwards, shall have the rank, pay, and emolu¬ 
ments of a colonel of cavalry; and the medical director of an army 
corps in the field, or of a department in which there are United States 
hospitals containing less than four thousand beds, shall have the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry. But this 
increased rank and pay shall only continue to medical officers while 
discharging such special duties; and the assignments from time to time 
to such duty shall be at least two-thirds of them made from among the 
surgeons and assistant surgeons of volunteers. 

March 10, 1866 {14-351). —Authorizes issue of blankets, bedding, etc., in the stores 
of the Surgeon-General and no longer needed to the National Home for Soldiers and 
Sailors’ Orphans of Washington City. 

July 14, 1866 {14-364). —Surplus bedding and hospital furniture may be issued to 
families rendered homeless and destitute by fire in Portland, Me. 

July 16, 1866 {14-173). —Medical stores and attendance may be furnished to desti¬ 
tute refugees and freedmen. 


Act of July 28, 1866 {U Stats., 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 17. That the Medical Department of the Army shall hereafter 
consist of one Surgeon-General with the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a brigadier-general; one assistant surgeon-general with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry; one chief medical pur¬ 
veyor and four assistant medical purveyors with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry, who shall give the same 
bonds which are or may be required of assistant paymaster-generals of 
like grade, and shall, when not acting as purveyors, be assignable to 
duty as surgeons by the President; sixty surgeons with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of majors of cavalry; one hundred and fifty assistant 
surgeons with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenants of cavalry 


424 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

for the first three years’ service, and with the rank, j^ay, and emolu¬ 
ments of captains of cavalry after three years’ service; and five medi¬ 
cal storekeepers with the same compensation as is now provided by 
law; and all the original vacancies in the grade of assistant surgeon 
shall be filled b}^ selection by examination from among the persons 
who have served as staff or regimental surgeons, or assistant surgeons 
of volunteers in th^ Arni}^ of the United States two years during 
the late war; and persons who have served as assistant surgeons three 
3 ^ears in the volunteer service shall be eligible for promotion to the 
grade of captain; and the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to 
appoint from the enlisted men of the Army, or cause to be enlisted, 
as many hospital stewards as the service may require, to be per¬ 
manently attached to the Medical Department, under such regulations 
as the Secretary of War may prescribe. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Surgeon-General . . . shall here¬ 

after be appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong, 
and no person shall be appointed to any vacancy created by this act in 
the . . . medical . . . departments until he shall have passed 

the examination now required by law. 

* * * 

Act of March 1867 {IJf Stats. ^ 

AN ACT to provide for a temporary increase of the pay of officers in the Army of the 
United States, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That so much of the act entitled “An act to increase and fix 
the military peace establishment of the United States,” approved July 
twenty-eight, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, as related to the promo¬ 
tion of assistant surgeons after three years’ service shall be amended 
so as to read “And persons who have served as surgeons or assistant 
surgeons three years in the volunteer force shall be eligible for pro¬ 
motion to the grade of captain.” 

* * * 

March, 2, 1867 {14-571 ).— Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

March 22, 1867 {15-21). —Surplus medical stores may be sold at first prices to the 
National Asylum for Disabled Volunteers. 

Resolution of March 1868 {15 Stats., 250). 

A RESOLUTION providing for the issue of clothing to soldiers and others to replace 
clothing destroyed to prevent contagion. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized at any 
time, on the recommendation of the Surgeon-General of the Army, to 
order gratuitous issues of clothing to soldiers who have had contagious 
diseases, and to hospital attendants who have nursed and attended such 
soldiers, to replace the articles of their clothing which have been 
destroyed by order of the proper medical officers to prevent contagion. 

June 25,1868 {15-254 )-— All distilled spirits produced during experiments for testing 
meters for the Internal-Revenue Service to be sold to the Surgeon-General for use in 
the army hospitals. 


THE MEDICAL DEPAKTMENT. 


425 


Act of My 27, 1868 (IS jStats., 232). 


AN ACT making appropriations for the service of the Columbia Institution for the 
Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and establishing additional regulations for the 
government of the institution, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. . . . That all expenditures for the said Providence Hos¬ 
pital and appropriations of Congress shall be made under tne direction 
and control of the Surgeon-General of the Army, whose duty it shall 
be to report at the December session of every Congress a full and com¬ 
plete statement of all expenses incurred under and by virtue of appro¬ 
priations made by Congress. 

Sec. T. . . . all expenditures for the Columbia Hospital for 
Women and Lying-in Asylum shall be under the direction of the Sur¬ 
geon-General of the Army, who shall also report to Congress at every 
December session a full and accurate account of all expenditures made 
by said asylum out of appropriations by Congress. 

March S, 1869 {15-301 ).—Contract for hospital treatment of 60 transient paupers, 
etc., in Washington to be made by the Surgeon-General. [In 1872 the contract 
was to be made by the Secretary of War; in 1874 the number of transients was 
increased to 75; and since 1876 the duty was intrusted to the Surgeon-General and 
Providence Hospital designated as the institution.] 


Act of Ararch 3, 1869 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 6 . That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Medical Department. 

* x- * 


Act of June 17, 1870 {16 Stats., 153). 

AN ACT to provide for furnishing artificial limbs to disabled soldiers. 

That every soldier who was disabled during the late war for the 
suppression of the rebellion, and who was furnished by the War 
Department with an artificial limb, or apparatus for resection, shall 
be entitled to receive a new limb or apparatus as soon after the pas¬ 
sage of this act as the same can be practicably furnished, and at the 
expiration of every five years thereafter, under such regulations as 
maybe prescribed" by the Surgeon-General of the Army: Provided, 
That the soldier imiy, if he so elect, receive instead of said limb or 
apparatus the money value thereof at the following rates, viz: For 
artificial legs, seventy-five dollars; for arms, fifty dollars; for feet, 
fifty dollars; for apparatus for resection, fifty dollars. 

Sec. 2. That the Surgeon-General shall certify to the Commissioner 
of Pensions a list of all soldiers who have elected to receive money 
commutation instead of limbs or apparatus, with the amount due to 
each, and the Commissioner of Pensions shall cause the same to be paid 
to such soldiers . . . 


42G LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. 8. ARMY. 

Act of March m, 187% {17 Stats., J^O). 

AN ACT to provide for the designation of a chief medical j)arveyor. 

That the President of the United States be, and hereby is, author¬ 
ized to appoint by selection from the present assistant medical pur¬ 
veyors, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a chief 
medical purveyor of the Army to fill the vacancy now existing. Noth¬ 
ing herein shall be construed to increase the pay of the officers 
appointed to fill said vacancy. 

May 15, 1872 (i7-ii7).—This act establishes rates of pay of hospital stewards from 
and after July 1, 1872. (See sec. 1280, R. S.) 


Act of ALay 187% {17 Stats., 164). 


AN ACT to provide for furnishing trusses to disabled soldiers. 

That every soldier of the Union Army who was ruptured while in 
the line of duty during the late war for the suppression of the rebel¬ 
lion shall be entitled to receive a single or double truss of such style 
as may be designated by the Surgeon-General of the United States 
Army as the best suited for such disability. 

Sec. 2. That application for such truss shall be made by the ruptured 
soldier to an examining surgeon for pensions, whose duty it shall be 
to examine such applicant, and for every such applicant found to have 
a rupture or hernia shall prepare and forward to the Surgeon-General 
an application for such truss, without charge to the soldier. 

Sec. 3. That the Surgeon-General of the United States Army is 
hereby authorized and directed to purchase and procure the number 
of trusses which ma}" be required for distribution to such disabled sol¬ 
diers, at a price not greater than the same are sold to the trade at 
wholesale; and the cost of the same shall be paid, upon the requisition 
of the Surgeon-General, out of any moneys in the Treasury not other¬ 
wise appropriated. 

Act of June 8, 187% {17 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act supplementary to an act to provide for 
furnishing artificial limbs to disabled soldiers,” approved June thirtieth, eighteen 
hundred and seventy. 

That the acts approved June seventeen, eighteen hundred and sev¬ 
enty, and June thirty, eighteen hundred and seventy, for supplying 
artificial limbs, or commutation for the same, to officers, soldiers, and 
seamen, shall apply to all officers, noncommissioned officers, enlisted 
and hired men of the land and naval forces of the U nited States who, 
in the line of their duty as such, shall have lost limbs or sustained 
bodily injuries depriving them of the use of any of their limbs, to be 
determined by the Surgeon-General of the Army. 

* * * 

June 10, 1872 {17-347 ).—After June 30, 1872, control of Freedmen’s Hospital is to 
be vested in the Secretary of War [presumably under the supervision of the Surgeon- 
General]. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


427 


Act of Ifarch 3, 1873 (17 Stats., 68^). 

AN ACT to provide for the eytabliHhiiient of a military prison, and for its govern- 

iiient. 


* * * 

k5EC. 4. That the officers of the prison shall consist of ... a 
Hurgeon, . . . who shall be detailed by the Secretary of War 

from the commissioned officers of the Army; . . . 

* * * 

Resolution of March 25^ 187Ip {18 Stats. ^ 286). 

JOINT RESOLUTION pthorizing the Secretary of War to detail a medical officer 
of the Army to inquire into and report upon the causes of epidemic cholera. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and 
directed to detail one medical officer of the Army, who shall, during 
the present year, under the direction of the Surgeon-General of the 
Army, . . . visit the towns at which cholera prevailed during 

eighteen hundred and seventy-three, or such of them as in the opinion 
of the Surgeon-General . . . may be necessary, confer with the 

health authorities and resident physicians of such towns, and collect 
as far as possible all facts of importance with regard to such epidemic, 
and shall make a detailed report of the information collected on or 
before the first da}" of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, to 
the President, to be submitted to Congress. And the Surgeon-General 
is hereby authorized and directed to report to the Secretary of War, 
for publication, such information on the subject as he may have or 
shall obtain. 


Act of June 187Ip {18 Stats. ^ 2JpJ^. 

AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the Medical Department of the Army shall hereafter 
consist of one Surgeon-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a brigadier-general; one assistant surgeon-general, and one chief 
medical purveyor, each with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a 
colonel; and two assistant medical purveyors, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of lieutenant-colonels, who shall give the same bonds which 
are or may be required of assistant paymasters-general of like grade, 
and shall, when not acting as purveyors, be assignable to duty as sur¬ 
geons by the President; fifty surgeons with the rank, pay, and emolu¬ 
ments of majors; one hundred and fifty assistant surgeons, with the 
rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenants of cavalry for the first five 
years’ service, and with the rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of 
cavalry after five years’ service; and four medical storekeepers, with 
the same compensation as is now provided by law; and all the original 
vacancies in the grade of assistant surgeon shall be filled by selection 
by competitive examination; and the Secretary of War is hereby 
authorized to appoint, from the enlisted men of the Army, or cause to 
be enlisted, as many hospital stewards as the service may require, to 
be permanently attached to the Medical Department, under such regu- 


428 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


lations as the Secretary of War may prescribe. And the number of 
contract surgeons shall be limited to seventy-five, on^ or before the 
first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-five; and there¬ 
after no more than that number shall be employed. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out by reason of any provision of law herein made, reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the staff. 

Sec. 7. That as vacancies shall occur in any of the grades of the 
. . . medical departments, no appointments shall be made to fill 

llie same until the numbers in such grade shall be reduced to the 
numbers which are fixed for permanent appointments by the provi¬ 
sions of this act; and thereafter the number of permanent officers in 
said grades shall continue to conform to said reduced numbers, and 
ail other grades in said . . . medical departments than those 

authorized by the provisions of this act shall cease to exist as soon as 
the same shall become vacant by death, resignation, or otherwise; and 
no appointment or promotion shall hereafter be made to fill any 
vacancy which may occur therein. 

Sec. 8. That so much of section six of the act entitled “An act 
making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other pur¬ 
poses,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as 
applies to the . . . medical departments of the Army be, and the 

same is hereby, repealed: Provided^ That this section repealing said 
section shall not apply to any of the grades of the medical . . . 

departments which are omitted or abolished by the provisions of this 
act. 

Act of January 1st, 1875 (18 Stats., 

AN ACT suspending so much of the act entitled “An act reorganizing the several 

staff corps of the Army,” approved June twenty-third, eighteen hundred and 

seventy-four, as applies to contract surgeons. 

That so much of the act entitled “An act reorganizing the several 
staff corps of the Army,” approved June twenty-third, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and seventy-four, as applies to contract surgeons, be, and is 
hereby, suspended until otherwise provided b}^ law. 

Act of June m, 1876 (19 Stats., 61). 

AN ACT to reduce the number and increase the efficiency of the medical corps of the 
United States Army. 

That the number of assistant surgeons now allowed by law shall be 
reduced to one hundred and twenty-five; that the office of medical store¬ 
keeper is hereby abolished; that from and after the passage of this 
act, in addition to the grades now allowed by law, there shall be four 
surgeons with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels; eight sur¬ 
geons with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels, to 
be promoted by seniority from the medical officers of the Army; that 
this act shall not be construed to deprive any medical officer or store¬ 
keeper now in office of his commission in the United States Army. 

August 15,1876 {19-203 ).— The Surgeon-General to prescribe regulations to govern 
the issue, once every five years, of artificial limbs or appliances, or commutation 
therefor, to officers and men who shall have lost a limb or sustained injuries depriv¬ 
ing them of the use of any of their limbs. 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


429 


REVISED STATUTES—2D EDITION—1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The of the United States shaU consist of— 

* * * 

The Medical Department. 

The hospital stewards of the Medical Department. 

* * * 

. . . a hospital steward for each militaiy post. 

* * *• 

Sec. 1127. Commanders of hospitals to afford to chaplains on duty thereat such 
facilities as may aid them in the performance of their duties. 

* * * 

Sec. 1168. The Medical Department of the Army shall consist of one 
Surgeon-General, with the rank of brigadier-general; one assistant 
surgeon-general, with the rank of colonel of cavalry; one chief med¬ 
ical purveyor and four assistant medical purveyors, with the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; sixty surgeons with the rank of major 
of cavalry; one hundred and fifty assistant surgeons, with the rank of 
lieutenant of cavalry for the first three years of service, and the rank of 
captain of cavalry after three years of service; and five medical store¬ 
keepers, with the rank of captain of cavalrv. All the original vacan¬ 
cies in the grade of assistant surgeon shall be filled by selection by 
examination from among the persons who have served as staff or regi¬ 
mental surgeons or assistant surgeons of volunteers in the Army of 
the United States during the late war. 

Sec. 1169. Officers of the Medical Department of the Army shall 
not be entitled in virtue of their rank to command in the line or in 
other staff corps. 

Sec. 1170. Assistant surgeons who have served three years as sur¬ 
geons or assistant surgeons in the volunteer forces shall be eligible to 
promotion to the grade of captain. 

Sec. 1171. The chief medical purveyor and the assistant medical 
purveyors may be assigned by the President to duty as surgeons when 
not acting as purveyors. 

Sec. 1172. No person shall receive the appointment of assistant sur¬ 
geon unless he shall have been examined and approved by an army 
medical board, consisting of not less than three surgeons or assistant 
surgeons, designated by the Secretary of War; and no person shall 
receive the appointment of surgeon unless he shall have served at least 
five years as an assistant surgeon in the Regular Army, and shall have 
been examined and approved by an army medical board, consisting of 
not Jess than three surgeons, designated as aforesaid. 

Sec. 1173. The chief medical purveyor shall have, under the direc¬ 
tion of the Surgeon-General, supervision of the purchase and distri¬ 
bution of the hospital and medical supplies. 

Sec. 1174. The officers of the Medical Department of the Army 
shall unite with the officers of the line under such rules and regulations 
as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War in s^erintending the 
cooking done by the enlisted men; and the Surgeon-Greneral shall pro¬ 
mulgate to the officers of said corps such regulations and instructions 
as may tend to insure the proper preparation of the ration of the 
soldier. 

Sec. 1175. Such quantities of fresh or preserved fruits, milk, but- 


430 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


ter, and eggs as may be necessary for the proper diet of the sick may 
be allowed in hospitals. They shall be provided under such rules as 
the Surgeon-General, with the approval of the Secretary of War, 
shall prescribe. 

Sec. 1176. Every soldier of the Union Army who was ruptured 
while in the line of duty during the war for the suppression of the 
rebellion is entitled to receive a single or double truss, of such style 
as may be designated by the Surgeon-General as best suited for his 
disability. 

Sec. 1177. Application for such truss shall be made by the ruptured 
soldier to an examining surgeon for pensions, whose duty it shall be 
to examine the applicant, and when found to have a rupture or hernia 
to prepare and forward to the Surgeon-General an application for such 
truss without charge to the soldier. 

Sec. 1178. The Surgeon-General is authorized and directed to pur¬ 
chase the trusses required for such soldiers at wholesale prices, and 
the cost of the same shall be paid upon the requisition of the Surgeon- 
General out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 

Sec. 1179. There shall be one hospital steward for each military 
post, who may be enlisted in that grade or appointed by the Secre¬ 
tary of War from the enlisted men of the Army, and shall be perma- 
nentl}^ attached to the Medical Corps, under such regulations as he 
may prescribe. 

Sec. 1180. The Secretary of War may appoint from the enlisted 
men of the Army, or cause to be enlisted, as many hospital stewards 
as the service may require, to be permanently attached to the Medical 
Corps, under such regulations as he ma}^ prescribe. 

Sec. 1181. Hospital stewards shall be graded as hospital stewards 
of the first class, hospital stewards of the second class, and hospital 
stewards of the third class. 

* * * 

Sec. 1191. . . . , the chief medical purve 5 ^or and assistant med¬ 

ical purve 3 ^ors and all storekeepers shall, before entering upon the 
duties of their respective offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the 
United States, in such sums as the Secretary of War may direct, 
faithfully to account for all public moneys and property which the}" 
may receive. The President may at any time increase the sums so 
prescribed. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Surgeon-General . . . shall be appointed 
b}" selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law, there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the . . . medical departments. 
* * * 

Sec. 1238. Women may be employed, instead of soldiers, as nurses 
in general or permanent hospitals, at such times and in such numbers 
as the Surgeon-General or the medical officer in charge of any such 
hospital may deem proper. 

Sec. 1239. Hospital matrons and nurses may be emploj^ed in post or 
regimental hospitals in such numbers as may be necessary. 

* * * 

Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any militaiy stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


431 


unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall ^ ' 
made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sau s 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 

* * * 

Sec. 1277. Hospital matrons in post or regimental hospitals shall 
receive ten dollars a month, and female nurses in general hospitals 
shall receive forty cents a day. One ration in kind or by commutation 
shall be allowed to each. 

* * * 

Sec. 1280. The monthly pay of the following enlisted men of the 
Arni}^ shall, during the first term of enlistment, be as follows, with 
the contingent additions thereto hereinafter provided: 

* * * 

Hospital stewards, first class, thirty dollars. 

Hospital stew^ards, second class, twenty-two dollars. 

Hospital stewards, third class, twenty dollars. 

^ Section 1281 adds $1 per month for each of the third, fourth, and fifth years of 
first enlistment, and section 1282 fixes the pay of men reenlisting at rate of pay for 
third year of first term. 

* * * 

Sec. 1295. . . . hospital matrons, and the nurses emplo 3 "ed in 

post or regimental hospitals shall be entitled to receive one ration 
dailv. 

* * * 

Sec. 1298. The Secretary of War may', on the recommendation of 
the Surgeon-General, order gratuitous issues of clothing to soldiers 
who have had contagious diseases, and to hospital attendants who have 
nursed them, to replace any articles of their clothing destroyed bv order 
of the proper medical officers to prevent contagion. 

* * * 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, to be charged 
against the officer responsible unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

* * * 

Sec. 1347. The officers of the [military] prison shall consist of 
. . . a surgeon, . . . who shall be detailed by the Secretary 

of War from the commissioned officers of the Army; . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 1647. . . . Each brigade [of militia called into service] 

shall have . . . one surgeon, . 

* * * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

* * * 

Sec. 8714. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service shall be made by or under the direction 

of the chief officer of the Department of War . . . And all 

agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 
their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper Df^’^art- 


432 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GEI^'ERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

ment for which such supplies or services are required, subject never¬ 
theless to the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasury, 

* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made, unless the same is authorized by law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, ... 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to make contracts, 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns, 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

* * * 

Sec. 4787. Every officer, soldier, seaman, and marine who was ais- 
abled during the war for the suppression of the rebellion, in the mili¬ 
tary or naval service, and in the line of duty, or in consequence of 
wounds received or disease contracted therein, and who was furnished 
by the War Department since the seventeenth day of June, eighteen 
hundred and seventy, with an artificial limb or apparatus since said 
date, shall be entitled to receive a new limb or apparatus at the expira¬ 
tion of every five years thereafter under such regulations as have been 
or may be prescribed by the Surgeon-General of the Army. The 
provisions of this section shall apply to all officers, noncommissioned 
officers, enlisted and hired men of the land and naval forces of the 
United States, who, in the line of their duty as such, shall have lost 
limbs or sustained bodily injuries depriving them of the use of any of 
their limbs, to be determined by the Surgeon^Gfeneral of the Army; 
and the term of five years herein specified shall be held to commence 
in each case with the filing of the application for the benefits of this 
section. 

Seo. 4788. Every pei’son entitled to the benefits of the preceding 
section may, if he so elects, receive instead of such limb or apparatus 
the money value thereof, at the following rates, name!}": For artificial 
legs, seventy-five dollars; for arms, fifty dollars; for feet, fifty dollars; 
for apparatus, for resection, fifty dollars. 

Sec. 4789. The Surgeon-General shall certify to the Commissioner 
of Pensions a list of soldiers who elect to receive money commutation 
instead of limbs or apparatus, with the amount due to each, and the 
Commissioner of Pensions shall cause the same to be paid to sucli 
soldiers in the same manner as pensions are paid. 

* * * 

Sec. 4815. . . . The Surgeon-General . . . shall consti¬ 

tute a Board of Commissioners for the Soldiers’ Home. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

May 4, 1880 {21-110 ').—Subsistence supplies may be sold to hospitals at cost prices, 
not including cost of transportation, upon the certificate of the officer in charge of 
a hospital, that the supplies are_necessary for the exclusive use of such hospital. 

Marchs, 1882 {22-456). Civilian employees of the army at military posts may 
purchase medical supplies, prescribed by a medical officer of the Army, at cost, with 
ten per centum added. 

March 10, 1882 {22-378 ).—Hospital tents may be issued for the relief of sufferers 
from the overflow of the Mississippi River. 

June SO, 1882 {22-117). An army and navy hospital to be erected at Hot Springs, 
Ark., on plans to be approved by the surgeons-general of the Army and Navy. 


THE MEDICAL DEPAKTMENT. 


433 


Act of AEarch S, 1883 Stats., 56Jf). 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the Board of Commissioners of the Soldiers’ Home 
shall hereafter consist of . . . the Surgeon-General, 

* * * 

Act of July 5, 188Ip {23 Stats., 107). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 
ending June 30th, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

AEedlcal Department. — . . . That officers of the Medical 

Dcpartinent shall take rank and precedence in accordance with date of 
comniission or appointment, and shall be so borne on the official Army 
Register: Provided, That the medical officers of the Army and con¬ 
tract surgeons shall, whenever practicable, attend the families of the 
officers and soldiers free of charge. 

* * X- 

March 2, 1885 {23-339 ).— Provides for the erection of a building to contain the 
records, library, and museum of the medical department of the Army, 


Act of March 1, 1887 {2Ip Stats., Jp35). 

AN ACT to organize the Hospital Corps of the Army of the United States, to define 
its duty, and fix its pay. 

That the Hospital Corps of the United States Army shall consist of 
hospital stewards, acting hospital stewards, and privates; and all 
necessary hospital services in garrison, camp, or field (including ambu¬ 
lance service) shall be performed by the members thereof, who shall 
be regularly enlisted in the military service; said corps shall be per¬ 
manently attached to the Medical Department, and shall not be included 
in the effective strength of the Army nor counted as a part of the 
enlisted force provided by law. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of War is empowered to appoint as many 
hospital stewards as, in his judgment, the service may require, but not 
more than one hospital steward shall be stationed at any post or place 
without special authority of the Secretary of AVar. 

Sec. 3. That the pay of hospital stewards shall be forty-five dollars 
per month, with the increase on account of length of service as is now 
or may hereafter be allowed by law to other enlisted men. They shall 
have rank with ordnance sergeants and be entitled to all the allowances 
pertaining to that grade. 

Sec. 4. That no person shall be appointed a hospital steward unless 
he shall have passed a satisfactory examination before a board of one 
or more medical officers as to his qualifications for the position, and 
demonstrated his fitness therefor by service of not less than twelve 
months as acting hospital steward; and no person shall be designated 
for such examination except by written authority of the Surgeon- 
General. 

Sec. 5 . That the Secretary of War is empowered to enlist or cause 
to be enlisted as many privates of the hospital corps as the service 
may require, and to limit or fix the number and make such regula- 


S. Doc. 229-28 



434 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


tions for their government as may be necessary; and any enlisted man 
in the Army shall be eligible for transfer to the hospital corps as a 
private. They shall perform duty as ward masters, cooks, nurses, 
and attendants in hospitals and as stretcher bearers, litter bearers, 
and ambulance attendants in the field, and such other duty as may by 
proper authority be required of them. 

Sec. 6 . That the pay of privates of the hospital corps shall be 
thirteen dollars per month, with the increase on account of length of 
service as is now or may hereafter be allowed by law to other enlisted 
men. They shall be entitled to the same allowances as a corporal of 
the arm of the service with which on duty. 

Sec. 7. That privates of the hospital corps may be detailed as acting 
hospital stewards by the Secretary of War, upon the recommendation 
of the Surgeon-General, whenever the necessities of the service require 
it; and while so detailed their pay shall be twent 3 -five dollars per 
month, with increase as above stated. Acting hospital stewards, when 
educated in the duties of the position, may be eligible for examination 
for appointment as hospital stewards, as above provided. 

* * * 

March 2. 1889 {25-825 ).—Maximum sum to be allowed contract surgeons when 
traveling on duty, fixed at four cents per mile, and in addition thereto, when the 
Quartermaster’s Department can not furnish transportation, the cost of same actually 
paid by them exclusive of sleeping or parlor car fare and transfer. 

March 3, 1891 {26-1103 ).—Artificial limbs to be furnished every three years. 


Act of July 13^ 1892 {27 Stats. ^ 120). 

AN ACT to amend the act approved March first, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, 
relating to the hospital corps of the Army. 

That section six of the act approved March first, eighteen hundred 
and eighty-seven, entitled “An act to organize the hospital corps of 
the Army of the United States, to define its duty and fix its pay,’’ be, 
and hereby is, amended to read as follows: 

^ “Sec. 6 . That the pay of privates of the hospital corps shall be 
eighteen dollars per month, with the increase on account of length of 
service as is now or may hereafter be allowed by law to other enlisted 
men. They shall be entitled to the same allowance as a corporal of 
the arm of service with which they may be on duty.” 

July 16, 1892 {27-174)- —Sec. 3709, R. S., requiring advertisement before purchase, 
not to apply to purchase of medicines and medical supplies. 


Act of My 27, 1892 (27 Stats., 276). 


AN ACT to define the grade of certain medical officers of the Army, and for other 

purposes. 

I 

That from and after the passage of this act the grade of certain 
medical officers of the Army below that of Surgeon-General shall be as 
follows. Those holding the rank of colonel, assistant surgeon-generals; 
those holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel, deputy surgeon-generals. 

Sec. 2. That before receiving the rank of captain of cavalry, 
assistant surgeons shall be examined under the provisions of an act 
approved October first, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled “An 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


485 


act to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army and 
to regulate promotions therein.” 

Sec. 3. That medical officers of the Army may be assigned by the 
Secretaiy of War to such duties as the interest of the service may 
demand. 

* * * 

August 5, 1892 {27-348 ).—Honorably discharged nurses who were employed by 
the Surgeon-General, who served for six months or more in any general hospital, 
entitled to pension if unable to earn a support. 


Act of March 29, {28 Stats., J^7). 

AN ACT to regulate the making of property returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of the Treasury 
Department returns of public property intrusted to the possession of 
officers or agents, . . . the Surgeon-General, . . . shall 

certify to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department, 
for debiting on the proper account, any charge against any officer or 
agent intrusted with public property, arising from any loss, accruing 
by his fault, to the Government as to the property so intrusted to 
him. 

* * * 

Act of Aiigust 6, 189Jf, {28 Stats., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Medical Department: . . . That hereafter no appoint¬ 

ments shall be made to the office of assistant surgeon until the number 
of assistant surgeons shall be reduced below one hundred and ten, and 
thereafter the number of officers in that grade in the Medical Depart¬ 
ment shall be fixed at ninety. 

* * * 

. . . Provided furthei^ . . . that purchases may be made in 

open market in the manner common among business men when the 
aggregate amount required does not exceed two hundred dollars, but 
every such purchase shall be immediately reported to the Secretary 
of War. 

* * * 


Act of August 18, 189 If, {28 Stats.. 372). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for 
other purposes. ^ ^ 

WAR DEPARTMENT. 

That the proviso in the paragraph for the Medical Department under 
title ‘^For pay of the general staff” in the act making appropriations 
for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes, approved 


430 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


August sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, is herel)y amended 
so as to read as follows: Provided^ That hereafter no appointments 
shall be made in the office of assistant surgeon until the number of 
assistant surgeons shall be reduced below one hundred aud ten, and 
thereafter the number of officers in that grade in the Medical Depart¬ 
ment shall be fixed at one hundred and ten. 

* -X- * 

Act of March i6', 1896 {^9 /Staffs., 60). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fis(!al year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven. 

* * * 


FOR I’AY OF ENLISTED MEN. 

* * * 

. . . : Provided., That there shall be no appointment^ of hospital 

stewards until the number of hospital stewards shall lie reduced below 
one hundred, and thereafter the number of such officers shall not 
exceed one hundred. 

* * 

June 11, 1896 {29-413'). —Authorizes the Medical Department to sell medical and 
hospital supplies at its contract prices to the National Home for Disabled Volunteers. 

Mmj 27, 1897 {30-220). —Authorizes purchase of medicines for the relief of destitute 
citizens of the United States in Culia. 

June 4, 1897 {30-11). —Authorizes the Medical De])artment to sell medical and hos¬ 
pital supplies at its contract prices to the Soldiers’ Home in the District of Columbia. 

Act of A 2 )ril 1898 {30 StaU.^ 361). 

AN ACT to j^rovide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

-X- * -X- 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an arnn^ corps shall 
consist of . . . one chief surgeon, Avho shall have . . . the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel. . . . The staff* of the commander of a 

division shall consist of . . . one chief surgeon, who shall have 

. . . the rank of major. . . . The staff* of the commander of a 

brigade shall consist of . . . one surgeon . 

* * * 

Act of May 1898 {710 Stats., If 6). 

AN ACT to increase the number of surgeons in the United States Army. 

That the number of medical officers of the Army be increased by 
the addition of fifteen assistant surgeons with the rank of first lieii- 
tcniant, to be appointed after examination by an army medical exam¬ 
ining board, in accordance with existing regulations. 

Sec. 2. That in emergencies the Surgeon-General of the Army, with 
the approval of the Secretary of AVar, may appoint as man}" contract 
surgeons as may be necessary, at a compensation not to exceed one 
hundred and fifty dollars per month. 

May 18, 1898 {30-419). —Prescribes mode of issuing medical stores to destitute 
inhabitants of Cuba. 


487 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 

Act of June 9., 1S9S {30 StaU., J^98). 

AN ACT to suspend certain ])rovisioiis of la\y relating to hospital stewards in the 
United States Army, and for other purposes. 

That all provisions of law limiting the nuinher of hospital stewards 
in service at any one time to one hundred, and requiring that a person 
to he appointed a hospital steward shall first demonstrate his fitness 
therefor hy actual service of not less than twelve months as acting 
hospital steward, . . . ])o, and the same are hereby, suspended 

during the existing war: Provided, That the increase of hospital 
stewards under this act shall not exceed one hundred. 

Act of AEarch 9, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the I nited States shall consist of ... a Medical Department, 

* * *x* 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Medical Department, . . . shall 

consist of the officers and enlisted men now provided by law: . . . 

* * * " 

Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service or to appoint, b}" and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Thirty-four surgeons with the rank as major. 

* * * 

February S, 1900 {SI ).—Authorizes construction of a modern military hospital 

at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. 

May 26, 1900 {31 ).—Additional hospital stewards, net to exceed an additional 

one hundred, may be appointed; no more than one to be stationed at one post or 
station without special authority of the Secretary of War. 


Act of P\hruary 9, 1901 {31 Stats., —.) 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from tiiid after the approval of this tict the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of . . . a Medical Department. . . . 

Sec. 18. That the Medical Department shall consist of one Surgeon- 
General with the rank of brigadier-general, eight assistant surgeons- 
general with the rank of colonel, twelve deputy surgeons-general with 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, sixty surgeons with the rank of major, 
two hundred and forty assistant surgeons with the rank of captain or 
first lieutenant, the Hospital Corps, as now authorized by law, and the 
Nurse Corps: Provided, That all vacancies in the grades of colone.^, 
lieutenant-colonel, and major created or caused by this section shall be 
filled by promotion according to seniority, subject to the examination 
now prescribed ])y law: And provided. That the peidod during which 
any assistant surgeon shall have served as a surgeon or assistant sur- 


488 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


geon ill the Volunteer Army during the war with Spain or since shall 
be counted as a portion ot* the live years’ service required to entitle 
him to rank of captain: And also^ That nothing in this sec¬ 

tion shall affect the relative rank for promotion of any assistant sur¬ 
geon now in the service, or who may be hereafter appointed therein, 
as determined by the date of his appointment or commission and as 
fixed in accordance with existing law and regulations: Provided further, 
That in emergencies the Surgeon-General of the Army, with the 
approval of the Secretary of War, may appoint as many contract sur¬ 
geons as may be necessary, at a compensation not to exceed one hundred 
and fifty dollars per month. That on and after the passage of this act 
the President may appoint, for duty in the Philippine Islands, fifty sur¬ 
geons of volunteers with the rank and pay of major and one hundred 
and fifty assistant surgeons of volunteers with the rank and pay of cap¬ 
tain, mounted, for a period of two years: Provided, That so many of 
these volunteer medical officers as are not required shall be honorably 
discharged the service whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of AVar 
their services are no longer necessary: Provided further. That assistant 
surgeons in the Volunteer Army of the United States commissioned 
by the President as captains, in accordance with the provisions of an 
act for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, 
and for other purposes, approved March second, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-nine, shall be entitled to the pay of a captain, uiounted, from 
the date of their acceptance of such commission, as prescribed by law: 
Provided, That the Surgeon-General of the Army, with the approval 
of the Secretary of War, be, and he is hereby, authorized to employ 
dental surgeons to serve the officers and enlisted men of the Regular 
and Volunteer xirmy, in the proportion of not to exceed one for every 
one thousand of said Army, and not exceeding thirty in all. Said 
dental surgeons shall be employed as contract dental surgeons under 
the terms and conditions applicable to army contract surgeons, and 
shall be graduates of standard medical or dental colleges, trained in 
the several branches of dentistiy, of good moral and professional 
character, and shall pass a satisfactory professional examination: Pro¬ 
vided, That three of the number of dental surgeons to be employed 
shall be first appointed b}^ the Surgeon-General, with the approval of 
the Se(5retary of AVar, with reference to their fitness for assignment, 
under the direction of the Surgeon-General, to the special service of 
conducting the examinations and supervising the operations of the 
others; and for such special service an extra compensation of sixty 
dollars a month will be allowed: Provided further. That dental-college 
graduates now employed in the Hospital Corps who have been detailed 
for a pei-iod of not less than twelve months to render dental service to 
the Army and who are shown by the reports of their superior officers 
to have rendered such service satisfactorily may be appointed contract 
dental surgeons without examination: Provided, That the Secretary 
of War be authorized to appoint in the Hospital Corps, in addition to 
the two hundred hospital stewards now allowed by law, one hundred 
hospital stewards: Provided, That men who have" ser\'ed as hospital 
stewards of volunteer regiments or acted in that capacity during and 
since the Spanish-American war for more than six months may be 
appointed hospital stewards in the Regular Army:, And provided fur¬ 
ther, That all men so appointed shall be of good moral character and 
shall have passed a satisfactory mental and physical examination. 


THK MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 


489 


Sec. 19. That the Nurse Corps (female) shall consist of one Super¬ 
intendent, to be appointed l)y the Secretary of AVar, who shall he a 
graduate of a hospital training school having a course of instruction of 
not less than two years, whose term of oflice may he terminated at his 
discretion, whose compensation shall be one thousand eight hundred 
dollars per annum, and of as many chief nurses, nurses, and reserve 
nurses as may be needed. Reserve nurses may he assigned to active 
duty when the emergency of the service demands, hut shall receive no 
compensation except when on such dut}” Provided^ That all nui’ses in 
the Nurse Corps shall be appointed or removed by the Surgeon-Gen¬ 
eral, with the approval of the Secretary of AA^ar; that they shall he 
graduates of hospital training schools, and shall have passed a satis¬ 
factory professional, moral, mental, and physical examination: A)ul 
2 )rovuli'd^ That the Superintendent and nurses shall receive transporta¬ 
tion and necessary expenses when traveling under orders; that the pay 
and allowances of nurses, and of reserve nurses, when on active service, 
shall be forty dollars per month when on duty in the United States 
and fifty dollars per month when without the limits of the United 
States. They shall be entitled to quarters, subsistence, and medical 
attendance during illness, and they may be granted leaves of absence 
for thirty days, with pay, for each calendar year; and, when serving 
as chief nurses, their pay may be increased by authority of the Secre¬ 
tary of AVar, such increase not to exceed twenty-five dollars per month. 
Payments to the Nurse Corps shall be made by the Pay Department. 
* * * 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff’ shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 






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THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


The earliest legislation creating a Pay Department is the resolution 
of the Continental Congress, June 16, 1775, which provided for a Pay¬ 
master-General and a deputy under him, for ^he Army, in a separate 
department. 

The lievolutionary Army was disbanded November 3, 1783, but Pay¬ 
master-General Pierce was continued in service settling his accounts 
and as commissioner for settling the accounts of the Army. The two 
offices were united by the resolution of March 23, 1787, and after the 
death of John Pierce, in 1788, the duties of the office of Paymaster- 
General were administered by Joseph Howell, jr.. Commissioner of 
Army Accounts, until the appointment of a Paymaster of the Army, 
May, 1792.’ 

The Pay Department, by that name, Avas first organized under the 
act of April 24, 1816, but a Paymaster for the Army “to reside near 
the headquarters of the troops of the l^. S.” had been authorized by 
the act of May 8, 1792. 

June 27,1775.—James Warren (Massachusetts). 

Apr. 27,1776.—William Palfrey (Massachusetts). 

Jan. 17,1771.—John Pierce (Connecticut). 

May 8,1792.—Caleb Swan (Massachusetts). 

July 1,1808.—Robert Brent (District of Columbia). 

Aug. 28,1819.—Nathan Towson, brevet major-general. May 30, 1848 (Maryland). 

June 1,1821.—Brig. Gen. Daniel Parker (Massachusetts). 

May 8,1822.—Col. Nathan Towson (Maryland). 

July 20,1854.—Col. Benjamin F. Lamed (Massachusetts). 

Sept. 6,1862.—Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., Sept. 13,1847) Timothy P. Andrews (District 
of Columbia). 

Nov. 29,1864.—Col. (Brig. Gen., July 28,1866) Benjamin W. Brice (Virginia). 

Jan. 1,1872.—Col. (Brig.Gen., July 22,1876) Benjamin Alvord (Vermont). 

June 8,1880.—Brig. Gen. Nathan D. Brown (New York). 

Feb. 17,1882.—Brig. Gen. William B. Rochester (New York). 

Mar. 10,1890.—Brig. Gen. William Smith (Minnesota). 

Mar. 26,1895.—Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Stanton (Iowa). 

Jan. 30,1899.—Brig. Gen. Asa B. Carev (Connecticut). 

July 12,1899.—Brig. Gen. Alfred E. Bates (Michigan). 


443 



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4 







THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

June 16, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That there be one Paymaster-General, and a 

deputy under him, for the Arm^^ in a separate department; that the 
pay for the Paymaster-General himself he one hundred dollars per 
month, and for the deputy paymaster under him, fifty dollars per 
month. 

July <27, 1775. 


Revived, That the paymaster give bond, with two sureties, in the 
sum of fifty thousand dollars for the faithful performance of his 
ofiice. 

That the bond be made payable to the same persons to whom the 
bonds of the Continental treasurers are payable. 

James Warren, esq., was then unanimously elected Paymaster- 
General. 

Resolved, That the paymaster in the New York Department give 
boncl to the same persons" as above directed, with two sureties, in the 
sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, for the faithful performance of 
his ofiice. 

July 28, 1775. 

The Congress tHen proceeded to the election of a paymaster for the 
forces in the New York Department, when Jonathan Trumbull, jr., esq., 
was unanimously elected to that ofiice. 


J{dy 29, 1775. 

Resolved, That the Paymaster-General, . . . and every [one] of 

their deputies, shall take an oath truly and faithfully to discharge the 
duties of their respective stations. 


December 2, 1775. 

Resolved, ... That the troops in the new Army be paid 
monthly. 


January 9, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the deputy paymaster-general have liberty 

to appoint under him two assistant paymasters, who shall each receive 
26 2/3 dollars per month for their trouble and services. 


445 



446 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That all the officers and soldiers in the northern departinent be paid 
in person by the deputy paymaster-general, or the assistants to be 
appointed b\^ him in consequence of the foregoing resolve. 

Filjruary 15, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That a payn^aster be appointed for the troops 

in Virginia, and that his pay be 50 dollars per month. 

The Congress then proceeded to the election, and Benjamin Harri¬ 
son, jr., of Berkeley, was chosen. 

A’pril 21, 1776. —Resignation of Paymaster-General Warren was accepted. 

Ajiril ^7, 1776. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Pa 3 unaster-General, in the 
room of Mr. Warren, whose resignation was accepted; and the ballots 
being taken and examined, 

William Palfrey, esq., was elected. 

May 4, 1776 .—“The honorable the Continental Congress have been pleased to 
appoint William Palfrey, esq., to be Paymaster-General of the Army of the United 
Colonies.” {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

June 5, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the Paymaster-General and the deputy 

paymaster-general make monthly returns to Congress of their expendi¬ 
tures and the state of the militaiy chests in their several departments. 

June m, 1776. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy paymaster-general 
for the eastern department, and, the ballots being taken, 

Ebenezer Hancock was elected unanimousl}^ 

July 17, 1776. 

The Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy paymaster- 
general for the flying camp, and, the ballots being taken, 

Richard Dallam, esq., was elected. 

August <2, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the Pa 3 ^master-General and the several 
deputy paymasters-general be directed to make weekly returns to 
Congress of the state of the military chests under their direction. 

Octobei' 21, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the stafi' in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows: . . . 

To the . . . deputy paymaster-general, 0 rations. . . . 

December 24, i77.9.—“The honorable the Board of War having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen and directed the distribution of them among the officers 


THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


447 


of tlie . . . staff, who are not adopted by any State: the clothier-general is to 

deliver them upon returns signed by the . . . heads of the following corps and 

departments at the rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 25th of November 
last: . . . deputy paymaster-general.” . . . (Orders, General Headquarters, 

Morristown.) 

Janua/ry 18^ 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a paymaster in Baltimore, and, 
the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Jonathan Hudson Avas elected. 


Janum^ 30., 1777. 

Resolved., . . . That the salary of . . . Jonathan Trumbull, 

esq., deputy paAunaster-general of the northern department, be aug¬ 
mented to the sum of 75 dollars per month. . . . 


Ajytnl i, 1777. 

Resolved., That the pay of the assistant pa 5 "masters in the northern 
department be augmented to 40 dollars a month, and that they be 
alloAved three rations a day. 


April <2, 1777. 

Resolved., That the paymaster and deputy paymaster-general, at the 
end of every month after the first day of May next, shall make up 
rolls containing the names of the general and other officers of the army 
to which they respectively belong who are not comprised in the regi¬ 
mental abstracts, excepting only the commander in chief of the seA^eral 
departments, who shall respectively examine such rolls. 

April ,9, 1777. 

Resolved., That the paymastei* and the deputy paymasters-general 
be directed forthwith to consult the commanders in chief of their 
respective districts and appoint deputies to repair to such posts and 
places of rendezvous and answer the draughts of such officers stationed 
thereat as the said commanders in chief shall respectively direct; that 
the deputies be supplied Avith money by the respectHe paymaster and 
deputy paymasters-general, and account wdth them therefor, and that 
all other paymasters of the Army cease to act at the posts and places 
pro Added Avith deputies as aforesaid. 

ARiy 27, 1777. 

Resolved, That the pa}^ of the assistant deputy paymaster-general in 
the Northern Army be raised to 45 dollars per month. 

Jxdy 11, 1777. 

Resolved, That Mr. »Tohn Baynton })e a|)pointed deputy paymaster- 
general to the troops and garrisons on the frontiers of Virginia and 
Pennsyl\"ania. 


448 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


1777. 


Resolved^ That a deputy paymaster-general be appointed in the said 
State of Georgia. 


August 6', 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of ... a deputy paymaster- 
general of Georgia: Whereupon, 

Resolmd.^'YAi'A . . . Joseph Clay [be] deputy paymaster-general 

in Georgia. 

* * * 


August W, 1777. 

Resolved., That the pay of the Paymaster-General be increased to 
150 dollars a month. 

That the pay of the deputy paymaster-general be increased to 75 
dollars a month. 


August <28, 1777. 

Resolved, That the pay of the deputy paymaster-general of the 
Northern, Eastern, and Southern departments be augmented to 80 
dollars per month. 

That the assistants to the Paymaster-General and deputy paymaster- 
general whom they are respectively authorized to appoint, when such 
officers shall be necessary, shall receive, for the time of their actual 
service, 50 dollars a month. 

That the Paymaster-General and deputy paymasters-general shall be 
obliged, respectively, to take bond of their respective assistants 
appointed by them for the faithful performance of their trust, in such 
penalties as the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of the 
department shall direct. 


September 10, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a paymaster for the North 
Carolina Light Horse, in the service of the continent; and, the ballots 
being taken, 

William Hardy was chosen. 


Octobco' 4, 1777. 

Resolved^ That every assistant appointed, or that hereafter may be 
appointed, by the deputy commissaries-general of purchases and of 
issues shall enter into a bond . . . [to be] lodged with the Pay¬ 

master-General or deputy paymaster-general of the district, to be by 
him transmitted to the treasury board. ... 

November JO, 1777 .—General Gates was authorized to order the Paymaster-General 
to pay dues to officers and men for rations allowed to them but not paid, provided 
that the existing regulations of the Commissary’s Department on the subject be no 
longer dispensed with than he shall judge necessary. 


THK PAY DEPARTMENT. 


449 


Xoremher 1777. 

Re^'^olvf^d., That the pay of flonathan TiTiin))ull, jr., deputy payiiiaster- 
o^eneral of the Nortliern Departiiieiit, be auo'ineiited to liio dollars per 
month. 


January IS^ 1778. 

Rei^olved^ . . . That the Paymaster-Cieneral he empowered to 

appoint an assistant in his office, and a clerk for six months, in addition 
to one already employed by him. 

That 7() dollars a month and two rations a day be hereaftei* allowed 
to each assistant and 50 dollars a month to each clerk in the office of 
the paymaster or deputy paymaster-general. 


Jan uary /4, 1778. 

Resolred^ That Ebenezer Hancock, esej., deputy paymaster-general 
of the eastern district, be directed to appoint forthwith an assistant 
paymaster constantly to attend to and pay the army stationed in or 
near Provddence for the defense of Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations. . . . 


Frhruary 6', 1778. 

Resolved^ . . . That the . . . paymaster and deput}" pay- 

masters-general . . . be directed to send, on or before the first 

day of jMay next, and afterwards quarterly, to the respective auditors 
of the Army duplicate accounts of such charges [monies charged in 
their offices to persons who are to account with the respective auditors], 
and to furnish them with the necessary papers and information, when 
required, for executing their office. . . . 

February 21, 1778. 

Resolved, That the pay of the pen-son Avho executed those offices 
[secretary and paymaster] in the hospital in the Middle Department be 
augmented to three dollars a da 3 ^ 

* * * 

Resolved, That the Pa^nnaster-Cxeneral be directed to consult with 
General Washington on the propriety of keeping a deputy paymaster 
at Baltimore, and if he shall judge such an officer unnecessary to inform 
Mr. Jonathan Hudson that, the public service not requiring his further 
assistancein that capacity, he is excused therefrom by Congress. . . . 

yiarcli SI, 1778 .—“By ])ermi8Bion of the lionorable Congress the Paymaster-General 
has appointed Thomas Reed, esq., to be his assistant. He is to be considered as 
such, and the })usiness of that department, in the absence of the Paymaster-General, 
is to be transacted with him.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

May 2, 1778 .—Congress authorized the commissioners at Fort Pitt, or in their 
absence the officer appointed to command on the western frontier, to appoint a proper 
person to perform the duties of paymaster to the militia of the counties of Rocking¬ 
ham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Bottetburt, Montgomery, Washington, and Greenbrier, 
in Virginia. 

S. Doc. 229-29 



450 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


May 6, 1778. 

Resolved^ That William Palfrey, Paymaster-General, he allowed the 
additional pa}" of 100 dollars a month from the date of this resolution 
until Congress shall otherwise order, 


June 9, 1778. 

Resolved., That the value of the rations due since the 1st of January 
last till the 1st inst. he estimated at one-third of a dollar; and that the 
officers do present their accounts to the Paymaster-General, or deputy 
paymaster-general, who shall adjust and pay the same, provided, always, 
that the said officers shall make oath to their accounts respectively, 
which oaths the said paymasters are hereby empowered and directed 
to administer, and transmit the said accounts, with the receipts the^-<^on, 
to the Treasury. 

Julu 29, 1778 .—Paymaster Jonathan Trumbull, jr., resigned, the northern and 
southern armies being joined. 


Atigust ^6’, 1778. 

The committee on the Treasury report: 

That they have considered the extra services and peculiar circum¬ 
stances of 'William Bedloc, as set forth in his memorial referred to 
them, and are of opinion that ho he allowed 35 dollars per month 
while acting as deputy paymaster to William Palfrey, esq., Paymaster- 
General, in addition to his former allowance of 50 dollars per month. 

Resolved., That Congress agree to the said report. 


October IS, 1778. 

Resolved, That Joseph Clay, esq., deputy paymaster-general in the 
State of Georgia, he empowered and directed to pay into the hands of 
the deputy commissary, the deputy quartermaster, and the deput}^ 
clothier-general in the said State (they obtaining a Avar rant from the 
commanding officer in the Southern Department), such sum or sums 
of money as may he wanting in their respective departments, each of 
them to he accountahle; and that the said deputy paymaster-general 
transmit the accounts of the sums he may so advance to the several 
officers at the heads of the abo\"e-mentioned departments. 

Resolved, That the deputy commissary, the deputy quartermaster, 
and the deputy clothier-general in the State of Georgia, Avhen they 
deliver their respective accounts of expenditures to the deputy pay¬ 
master-general, do cause to be specified on the receipts of the said 
accounts that the same were paid in Continental currency, and that 
the sum be fully expressed in Avords. 

Resolved, That the deputy paymaster-general he empowered and 
directed to pay the officers and men belonging to the Continental 
gallies in the State of Georgia the monthly wages that are and may he 
due to them, transmitting at the end of every month an account of the 
same to the Board of Treasury. 


THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


451 


Kovemher 1778. 

Iiesoh)ed., That all officers and persons employed on the stall' shall 
receive for subsistence inone}^ one-third of a dollar for each extra 
ration heretofore allowed thein. 

January 21, 1779.^ 

Resolved.) That the . . . paymaster or deputy paymaster-general 

lie authorized to provide for themselves respectively, from time to 
time, a convenient house near headquarters for an office; that they 
be not precluded from their choice unless by order of the Commander 
in Chief or commanding officer of the department, and that no other 
officers be quartered therein. 

March 16, 1779:^ 

Resolved, . . . That the Quartermaster-General be authorized 
to a})point a })aymaster . . . for the said corps of wagoners Avhich 

he was empowered to organize ... 

Ajrrll 17, 1779. 

Resolved, . . . That such regulations shall be established l)y 
the Quartermaster-General for the . . . paying of the said corps 

of wagonei's as shall be judged expedient, and approved of b}" the 
Commander in Chief. 


May 11, 1779. 

Resdred, . . . That all staff officers who served witli the Army 

shall be allowed clothing on the same conditions as officers in the line, 
provided they engage for a year or longer. 

May 17, 1779. 

Resolved, That the commanding officer of the detachment of the 
army serving in South Carolina and Georgia be authorized to appoint 
a paymaster for the said legion. 

Ma\j 17, 1779 .—Captain Baldesqui, the present paymaster of the troops serving in 
South C'arolina and Georgia (Count Pulaski’s legion) was to be detained until lie should 
have settled his accounts. As, on December 29, 1779, Congress, deeming that the cir¬ 
cumstances of the cor])S lately commanded liy General Count Pulaski did not require 
a jiaymaster, and therefore accepted Captain Baldesqui’s resignation, it would seem that 
the resolve of May 17 was not carried out. For want of regularity in keejiing proper 
vouchers, the auditor of account for the main army had found the settlement of the 
accounts of the Pulaski legion impracticable, and, therefore. Congress passed the 
resolve of that date, but June 5, on the receipt of a letter from the Paymaster-General, 
it resolved that the report of the Committee on the Treasury of March (May?) 17 be 
reconsidered. [I liave failed to find the report of IVIarch 17, but if the proper date 
is May 17, this would explain Captain Bahlesqui remaining in service until Decem¬ 
ber 29.] 


^This resulted from the many inconveniences to the public, as well as to indi¬ 
viduals, that liave arisen from the distance of the paymaster’s office from the quarters 
of the commanding officer. 

^The resolve of this date was repealed April 17, 1779. 



452 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Mwy 1779, 

BesoVved^ . . . Whereas the troops formerly serving* in South 

Carolina and Georgia are united in one body , under the same command¬ 
ing officer, and disorder may arise from having two military chests and 
paymasters in the same detachment of the army; and Joseph Clay, esq., 
deputy paymaster for Georgia, having represented that the money 
remaining in his hands will soon be expended, and a supply having 
been lately forwarded to John Lewis Jervais, depiiW pa 3 onaster for 
South Carolina: 

Resolved,, That the general commanding in South Carolina be author¬ 
ized and directed to draw out of the hands of the said John Lewis 
Jervais the balance which may be due from him to the public, and 
transfer it to the care of the said Joseph Clay, who shall be considered 
as the sole deputy paymaster for the troops serving in South Carolina 
and Georgia, until the further order of Congress; and that Mr. Jervais 
adjust and transmit his accounts to the Board of Treasury for settlement. 


May 9.9, 1779, 

Resolved, That the Paymaster-General shall keep his office in the 
place where Congress may, from time to time, hold their sessions. 

That he be allowed to employ as man}^ clerks as shall be judged nec¬ 
essary for the Board of the Treasuiy. 

That he be authorized to superintend the several deputy paymasters- 
general, whose duty it shall be to make monthh" returns to him and 
reasonable applications for money for the use of the Armv; to follow 
his direction in the mode of keeping their accounts, and all other mat¬ 
ters relative to their office. 

That all accounts of advances made by an}^ of the States, or any offi¬ 
cer or person whatsoever, for the pay of the Continental Army or for 
the recruiting service, shall be delivered to the deputy paymaster- 
general of the district where such advances may be made; and the said 
deputies are hereby directed to keep a copy of such accounts in a book 
to be provided by them for that purpose, and to transmit the originals 
immediately to the Paymaster-General. 

That the Paymaster-General shall keep regular books and charge 
therein all moneys that have been or may be advanced to the deputies 
in the several departments, and when he receives their monthl}^ returns 
shall give them credit for the same, charging the several regiments or 
persons to whom such advances have been made and transmitting their 
accounts to the auditors of the Army, respectively. 

That the auditors of the Armv in the several districts make monthly 
returns to the Paymaster-General of the accounts settled in their office, 
particularly specifying the manner in which such accounts were bal¬ 
anced and the date of the settlement. 

That a deputy paymaster-general be appointed for the army under 
the immediate command of His Excellency General Washington. 

Resolved, That it be referred to the Committee on the Treasury to 
consider and report the allowances of pay to be made to the deputy 
paymaster-general at the main army, as well as to the deputy pay- 
masters-general in the other districts, and to the clerks of the several 
deputy paymasters-general. 


THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


453 


June 7, 1779. 

The Committee on the Treasury Iniving* nominated John Pierce to 
the office of deputy paymaster-general to the army under the imme¬ 
diate command of General Washington, Congress proceeded to an 
election; and the ballots being taken, 

Mr. John Pierce was chosen. 


• 55 - * * 

The Committee on the Treasury having nominated Thomas Reed to 
the office of deputy paymaster-general at Albany, Congress proceeded 
to the election; and the ballots being taken, 

Thomas Reed was chosen. 


Awjmt 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That the half pay provided by the resolution of the 15th 
of ^lay, 1778, be extended to continue for life, and that the holding of 
a civil office under the United States, or any of them, shall be no bar 
to prevent any officer from receiving the same. 


Auijmt 18, 1779. 


Resolced, That until further order of Congress the said officers [of 
the Army] be entitled to receive monthly for their subsistence money 
the sums following, to wit: Each colonel, . . . 500 dollars; every 

lieutenant-colonel, 400 dollars; every major, . . . 300 dollars; 

every captain, 200 dollars; every lieutenant, ensign, . . . 100 

dollars. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the sum of 10 
dollars be paid to every noncommissioned officer and soldier monthly 
for their subsistence in lieu of those articles of food originally intended 
for them and not furnished. 

Septemher 16, 1779. 

A letter of this day from William Palfrey, Paymaster-General, was 
read, informing that John Ba\mton has resigned the office of paymaster 
for the western district, and that it is necessaiy another person be 
appointed to succeed him; whereupon 

Congress proceeded to an election; and the ballots being taken, 
John Bowman was elected deputy paymaster for the western district, 
in the room of John Baynton, resigned. 


Rovemher 12, 1779. 

. . . it was resolved that William Palfrey, esq., Paymaster-Gen¬ 

eral, as a further compensation for his services, be allowed the sum of 
20,000 dollars. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the Paymaster- 
General to the armies of the United States be allowed at the rate of 
14,000 dollars per annum. 


454 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


May 3, 1780. 

I^esolved, That until the further order of Congress the deputy pay- 
masters-general, under the Paymaster-General of the armies of the 
United States, be allowed at the rate of 8/lOths per cent on the moneys 
which they may pay out, respectively, to the Army; and that this 
commission have retrospect from the 29th day of May, 1779, when the 
pay office was last regulated; that the said allowance be in full pay¬ 
ment for the services of themselves and assistants, and in full compen¬ 
sation for all expenses, except one ration a day each, while at camp, 
for themselves and assistants. 

June 1780. 

Resolved^ . . . That Major-General Gates be, and he is hereby, 

authorized to appoint ... a deputy paymaster-general . . . 

[for the Southern Army]. 


July 15, 1780. 

Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses be 
allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be by 
order of the commander in chief or commanding officer of a separate 
army, each of whom to be alloAved for themselves so man}^ baggage 
wagons and bathorses as the}^ uia,y think necessary, to wit: 

* * -X- 

Deputy paymaster, either with the main arni}^ or with a separate 
army, 1 covered 4-horse wagon. 

-X- * * 

Resolved, That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bathorses b}^ these regulations, there be issued . . . : 

To a . . . deputy paymaster, one; . 

November 4, 1780. —Dr. AVilliam Palfrey, late Paymaster-General, \vas elected con¬ 
sul, to reside in France. 


January 17,1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Paymaster-General of the 
Army; and, the ballots being taken, 

Mr. John Pierce was elected, having been previouslv nominated by 
Mr. Clarke. 


Septemher 25, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be authorized and 
directed to ascertain the value of a ration, from time to time, and cer¬ 
tify the same to the Paymaster-General, who shall govern himself 
accordingly in settling with the officers. 


January i, 1782. —“The Paymaster-General or his deputy will, at the close of every 
month, settle with the contractors [supplying the troops with provisions], and after 
paying them for kich articles as the officers have drawm, pay each officer . . . the 
balance due him.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Philadelphia.) 


THE PAY DEPAETMENT. 


455 


January 16^ 178^2. 

Besolved^ That in the settlement of the accounts of such officers of 
the hospital and medical department as are entitled to an allowance 
for depreciation by any resolution of Congress, the establishment of 
pay made upon the 8th day of April, 1777, be considered as specie. 

April 8, 1782. 

Resolved.^ That . . . the Secretary at War . . . issue his 

warrants on the Paymaster-General, in favour of eadi regimental pa^^- 
master, for the pay and rations which shall appear on adjustment of 
their accounts to be due to the regiments, respectively, . . . ; 
thiit the accounts for the pa}- and rations of each regiment, . . . , 
from January 1, 1782, shall be made out at the end of every month 
and be transmitted to the war office for examination and warrants; 

That the manner of making the payments, of keeping the accounts 
and the returns of the regimental paymasters be regulated by the 
Secretary at War; 

That the Paymaster-General shall pay on the warrants of the Secre¬ 
tary at War from such monies as shall be put into his hands for the 
pa}" and rations of the troops, and to the orders of the commander in 
chief, or officer commanding the Southern Army, from such monies as 
shall be placed in his disposal for contingencies. 

Resolved., That all resolutions heretofore passed empowering gen¬ 
eral officers to draw warrants on the Paymaster-General, except that 
empowering the officer commanding the Southern Army, be, and the 
same are hereby, repealed. 

Resolved., That there be one deputy paymaster for the Southern 
Army; 

That there shall be one assistant allowed to the Paymaster-General, 
who shall do the duties of a clerk; 

That the Paymaster-General be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
appoint his deputy and assistant; 

That the Paymaster-General immediately give bonds, with two sure¬ 
ties, to the superintendent of finance, in the sum of 15,000 dollars, for 
the faithful performance of his office. 

April 22, 1782. 

Resolved, That from and after the first day of May next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow¬ 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster’s Department, . . . be, and they are 

hereby, repealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations, . . . 

affixed to their several ranks, viz: 

* * * 

Deputy paymaster, with the Southern Army, rations per day; 11 
dollars per month. 

April 28, 1782. 

Resolved, That the supernumerar}" junior lieutenants, beyond the 
number of ten in each regiment of infantry, be reduced; 
except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the staff 


456 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severall}^ retain their respective 
ranks in the Army and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence be¬ 
longing to their rank in the line as a compensation for their respective 
services in the staff, without any other allowance whatsoever; . 

May 16^ 178^. 

Hesolmd^ That the Pa 3 miaster-General be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to appoint a deput}^ paymaster to reside with the Main Army. 

October 23, 1782. 

Besolved, . . . That the following be the proportion of wTigons 

and bathorses to the different ranks of officers, . . . : 

* * * 

Deputy pa^unaster with the Main and Southern Arm^^ each, one 
two-horse-wagon. 

% -X- -X- 

That there shall be allowed for saddle horses: 

* * ^ 

DejJiity paymaster. 1 ration. 

* -x- -x- 

Moveinber 20, 1782. 

Ordered, That the Pay^master-General furnish the Secretary at War, 
from time to time, as they ma^" be called for by him, with the accounts 
of all pay and advances received by or chargeable to the officers and 
men of the several regiments in the service of the United States. 

June 5, 1783 .—“The paymasters or agents of regiments, as soon as they have fin¬ 
ished the accounts of their own corps, are requested to attach themselves to the 
Faymaster-General if they can make it convenient, and to assist in completing the 
general settlement as soon as possible.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

July I^, 1783. 

Resolved, That the Paymaster-General be, and he is hereb}^, fully 
authorized and empowered to settle and finall}^ adjust all accounts 
whatsoever between the United States and the officers and soldiers of 
the American Army, so as to include all and every demand which they 
or either of them may have by virtue of the several resolutions and 
acts of Congress relating thereto. 

September 10, 1783. 

Resolved, That the Secretary at War inform thq Pa^miaster-General 
that brevet commissions do not entitle to pay or emoluments, unless 
the same be expressed in the resolution granting such commissions. 

June 1, 178J 

Resolved, That in settling the accounts of the deputy paymasters in 
the main and southern armies, who are appointed in pursuance of the 
act of the 8th of April, 1782, they be allowed at the rate of 75 dollars 
per month while they were in service, including such advances as have 
been made under the head of subsistence or otherwise. 



THE VAY DEPARTMENT. 


457 


A m/ust 3, ms. 

liesolved^ That the Pavinastor-(*eneral be, and he is hereby, directed 
to settle Mdtli tlu' widows and or])hans of officers wdio did not belong 
to any of the I idled States, entitled to 7 years’ half pay, under the 
resolution of Au^’ust 24, 1780, and to issue to them certificates therefor. 

March 23, 1787. 

Resolved, That the services and duties of the Paymaster-General be, 
and hereby are, united with those of the comndssioner of army 
accounts, and that the said commissioner, after the expiration of tlm 
present quarter, be allowed, in full for his services as commissioner 
and Paymaster-General, a salary at the rate of 1,250 dollars annually. 

(Jctoher 2. 1788. 

The committee, consisting of Mr. Howard, Mr. Few, Mr. Drayton, 
Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Garrinoton, appointed to make full enquiry into 
the proceedings in the Department of War, beo* leave to report, and 
to present to the view of Congress a summaiy statement of the various 
branches of the Department of War. 

* -X- * 


3k1)—OF THE VAY OF THE TROOPS. 


The troops have generally been paid up to the 1st of Januaiy, 1787, 
and the officers have had their subsistence and forage money paid up 
to the 1st of April, 1788. Both officers and soldiers appear w^ell satis- 
lied in this respect. But as about 200 noncommissioned officers and 
privates will be discharged during the present year, it will be neces¬ 
sary that the Treasury Board devise some mode to make them satisfac¬ 
tory pa 3 unent. The balance due the troops to the 1st day of July is 
estimated at 65,000 dollars. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of 2fay 8, 1792 {1 Stats., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments. 

* -X- 

Sec. 3. That there be a paymaster to reside near the headquarters 
of the troops of the United States. That it shall be the duty of the 
said paymaster to receive from the Treasurer all the moneys which shall 
be intrusted to him for the purpose of paying the pay, the arrears of 
pay, subsistence, or forage due to the troops of the United States. That 
he shall receive the pay abstracts of the paymasters of the several regi¬ 
ments or corps, and compare the same with the returns or muster rolls 
which shall accompany the said pay abstracts. That he shall certif}?" 
accurately to the commanding officer the sums due the res])ective 
corps, which shall have been examined as aforesaid, who shall thereon 
issue his warrant on the said deputy paymaster for the payment accord¬ 
ingly. The copies of all reports to the commanding officer, and the 
warrants thereon, shall be duly transmitted to the office of the account- 


458 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAEE OE U. S. ARMY. 


ant of the War Department, in order to bo there examined and finally 
adjusted at the Treasury. That the said paymaster shall give bond in 
the sum of twenty thousand dollars, with two sufficient sureties, for the 
faithful discharge of his duty, and he shall take an oath faithfully to 
execute the duties of his office. That the compensation to the said 
paymaster shall be sixty dollars monthly, with the same rations and 
forage as a major. 

-X- * * 


Act of May SO, 1796 {1 Stats,, JfS). 

AN ACT to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one Paymaster-General . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the monthly pay of the officers ... of the 
militar}^ establishment be as follows: . . . Paymaster-General 

. . . in addition their pay in the line, twenty-five dollars . . . 

Sec. 13. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations 
of provisions: . . . paymaster-generals, . . . six rations, 
. . . or money in lieu thereof, at the option of said officer, at the 
posts, respective!}^, where the rations shall become due; and if at 
such post supplies are not furnished by contract, then such allowance 
as shall be deemed equitable, having reference to former contracts 
and the position of the place in question. 

Sec. 14. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever 
forage shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the 
following enumerated sums, per month, instead thereof, to wit: 
. . . paymaster-generals . . . twelve dollars . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the general staff as authorized by this act shall con¬ 
tinue in service until the 4th day of next March, and no longer. 

Act of Afarch 3, 1797 {1 Stats., 507). 


AN ACT to amend ami repeal, in part, the act entitled “An act to ascertain and fix 
the military establishment of the United States.” 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be one . . . Paymaster-General, who 

shall receive the same pay and emoluments, \ . . heretofore 

. allowed by law. 

* -X- * 


Act of 3fay 1798 {1 Stats., 558). 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to raise a })rovisional army. 

-X- * .j?. 

Sec. 7. That in case the President shall judge the employment of a 
. . . Paymaster-General . . . essential to the public interest, 

he is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the 


THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


459 


Senate, to appoint the same accordingly, who shall be entitled to the 
rank, pay, and emoluments which follow, viz: . . . Pa^miaster- 

General . . . the pay and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel: 

Provided^ That in case the President shall judge it expedient to 

appoint a . . . Paymaster-General . . . in the recess of the 

Senate, he is hereby authorized to make . . . said appointments 

and grant commissions thereon, which shall expire at the end of the 
next session of the Senate thereafter. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the . . . Paymaster-General . . . who may 

be appointed by virtue of this act shall . . . continue in commis¬ 

sion during such term only as the President shall judge requisite for 
the public service; . . . 

Sec. 10. That no . . . stall' officer who shall be appointed by 

virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive pay or emoluments until 
he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time than he 
shall continue therein. 

* * * 

Act of March 5, 1799 {1 Stats. ^ llfl). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 15. That the Paymaster-General of the armies of the United 
States shall always quarter at or near the headquarters of the main 
army, or at such place as the Commander in Chief shall deem proper; 
and that, to the army on the Western frontiers and to detachments 
from the main army, intended to act separately for a time, he shall 
appoint deputy paymasters, who shall account to him for the money 
advanced to them, and shall each give a bond in the sum of fifteen 
thousand dollars, with sufficient sureties, for the faithful discharge of 
their duties, respective^, and take an oath faithfully to execute the 
duties of their offices. . . . And that the Paymaster-General shall 

receive eighty dollars per month, with the rations and forage of a 
major, in full compensation for his services and traveling expenses; 
and the deputy, in addition to his pay and other emoluments, thirty 
dollars per month, in full compensation for his services and traveling 
expenses. 


Act of April 1800 {2 Stats. ^ 38). 


AN ACT to fix the compensation of the Paymaster-General and assistant to the 

Adjutant-General. 

Sec. 1. That the Paymaster-General of the Army of the United 
States shall receive one hundred and twenty dollars per month, with 
the rations and forage of a major, in full compensation for his services 
and traveling expenses, to be computed from the commencement of the 
time of his actual residence at the seat of Government, anything in the 
‘‘Act for the better organization of the troops of the United States, 
and for other purposes,” to the contrary notwithstanding. 


460 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of Afarch 16^ 1802 {2 Stats. ^ 132). 


AN ACT fixing the military i)eace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one paymaster of the Army, 

seven paymasters and two assistants, to be attached to such districts 
as the President of the United States shall direct, to be taken from the 
line of commissioned officers, who, in addition to their other duties, 
shall have charge of the clothing of the troops. 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . be as follows, 

to wit: To the . . . paymaster of the Army, one hundred and 
twenty dollars, Avithout any other emolument, except such stationery 
as may be requisite in his department and the use of the public office 
now occupied by him; . . . each paymaster attached to districts, 

thirty dollars, and each assistant to such paymaster, ten dollars, in 
addition to his pay in the line. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That . . . the Secretary of War is hereby authorized 
to cause to be furnished to the paymasters of the respective districts 
such surplus of clothing as he may deem expedient, which clothing 
shall, under his direction, be furnished to the soldiers, when necessary, 
at the contract prices and accounted for by them out of the arrears of 
monthly pay. 

* * w 

Sec. 13. That the said corps shall be paid in such manner that the 
arrears shall, at no time, exceed two months, unless the circumstances 
of the case shall render it unavoidable. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the Paymaster shall perform the duties of his office, 
agreeable to the direction of the President of the United States, for the 
time being; and before he enters on the duties of the same shall give 
bonds, with good and sufficient sureties, in such sums as the President 
shall direct, for the faithful discharge of his said office; and shall take 
an oath to execute the duties thereof with fidelity; and it shall, moreover, 
be his duty to appoint from the line, with the approbation of the 
President of the United States, the several paymasters to districts and 
assistants prescribed by this act; and he is hereby authorized to require 
the said paymasters to districts and assistants to enter into bonds, 
with good and sufficient surety, for the faithful discharge of their 
respective duties. 

* -X- * 


uiet of April 30, 1810 (2 Stats., 692). 

AN ACT regulating the Post-Ottiee Department. 

* 

Sec. 24. That letters and packets, to and from the following officers 
of the United States, shall be received and conveyed by post, free of 
postage, . , . the . . . Paymaster of the Army. .. . . 


THE PAY DEPAETMENT. 


461 


Act ofJtmuanj 11, 18m (2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * * 

Sec. 9. That . . . the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to 

cause to be furnished to the paymasters of the respective districts such 
surplus of clothing as he may deem expedient, which clothing shall, 
under his direction, be furnished to the soldiers, when necessary, at 
the contract prices and accounted for by them out of their arrears of 
monthly pay. 

* * * 

Sec. 18. That the said corps shall be paid in such manner that the 
arrears shall, at no time, exceed two months, unless the circumstances 
of the case shall render it unavoidable. 

* * * 


Act of May 16, 18 m Stats., 735). 

AN ACT making farther provision for the Army of the United States. 

That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, author¬ 
ized and empowered to appoint so many district paymasters as, in his 
judgment, the service may require; and if such paymasters are taken 
from the line of the Army, they shall, respectively, receive thirty 
dollars per month in addition to their pay in the line: Provided, The 
same shall in no case exceed the pay and emoluments of a major; and 
if not taken from the line, they shall receive the same pay and emolu¬ 
ments as a major of infantry. 

Sec. 2. . . . Provided, That all district . . . pa\^masters 

shall be subject to the rules and articles of war, and give such bonds 
to the United States as the Secretary for the Department of War may 
direct for the faithful performance of their duties. And it shall be the 
duty of the commanding officer, when requested by the paymaster, to 
furnish a capable noncommissioned officer or soldier to aid him in the dis¬ 
charge of his duty, who, wffiile so emplo 3 ^ed, shall receive double pay. 

Act of July 6, 18 m if Stats., 78Ii). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That to any army- of the United States, other than that in 
which the . . . Payuiiaster of the Army shall serve, it shall be lawful 

for the President to appoint . . . one deputy paymaster-general 

who shall be taken from the line of the Army, and who shall, in addi¬ 
tion to his pay and other emoluments, be entitled to fifty dollars per 
month, which shall be in full compensation for his extra services. 
And that there shall be, to each of the foregoing deputies, such num¬ 
ber of assistant deputies (not exceeding three to each department) as 
the public service may reejuire, who shall, in like manner, be taken 
from the line, and who shall each be entitled to thirty dollars per 
month, in addition to his pav and other emoluments, which shall be in 
full compensation for his extra services; Andjyrovided also, That the 


4G2 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


President of the United States be, and he is here))}", authorized to 
appoint any of the of}i(;ers named in this act during the recess of the 
Senate, to be submitted to the Senate at their next meeting for their 
advice and consent. 

* * * 

Act of January ISIS {S Stats. ^ 794). 

AN ACT ill addition to the act entitled “An act to raise an additional military force,” 

and for other purposes. 

-X- * x- 

Sec. 9. That the said regiments shall be paid in such manner that 
the arrears shall at no time exceed two months, unless the circumstances 
of the case shall render it unavoidable. 

X- X- X- 

Act <f March S^ ISIS (S Stats. SIG). 

AN ACT the lietter to jirovide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, 
and for the accountability of persons entrusted with the same. 

X * X- 

Sec. 4. That the officers . . . who may receive monies in 

advance from the War Department shall render quarterly accounts to 
the accountant of the said Department of their specie receipts and dis¬ 
bursements, and shall moreover make such other monthl}^ summary 
statements thereof to the Secretary for the said Department as he may 
prescribe. . . . 

X * * 

Act of March SO, ISI 4 {S Stats., US). 

AN*A(’T for better oiyanizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United States. 

X X X 

Sec. 20. That in no case shall the district paymasters . . . be 

taken from the line of the Army. 

X X X 


Act of April IS, IS 14 {S Stats., l^S). 


AN ACT fixing the salary of the Paymaster of the Army of the United States, and 
allowing a sum for the emjiloyment of additional clerks in his office for the year 
one thousand eight hundred and f(mrteen, and providing for the appointment of 
assistant district paymasters. 

That in lieu of the monthly compensation now allowed by law to the 
Paymaster of the Army of the United States, he shall receive an 
annual salary of two thousand dollars, to be paid quarter yearly, at 
the Treasury of the United States, and to commence on the ist day of 
♦January last. 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint 
so many assistant district paymasters, not exceeding thirty, as the 
public service may, in his opinion, require: Provided That the Presi- 


THE PAY DEPAKTMENT. 


463 


dent of the United States shall have power to appoint any officer 
authorized by this act, during the recess of the Senate, to he submitted 
to them for their advice and consent at their next session. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the Paymaster of the Army, 
under the direction of the War Department, to make all disburse¬ 
ments of money within that Department to the district paymasters, 
and to adjust, state, and exhibit their several accounts, according to 
such forms, and within siuffi periods, as shall be prescribed for that 
purpose by the Treasury Department. 

Sec. 4. That to secure the regular and punctual payment of the 
troops, the district pa^uiiasters shall examine and transmit to the Pay¬ 
master of the Army the accounts and vouchers for all disbursements 
which have been made by them to the troops of the army or district 
where they shall l)e stationed, as soon as the first pa 3 Uiient shall have 
been made, and accompany the same with an estimate for the next 
payment, which accounts and estimates shall be regularl^Aransmitted, 
that settlements ma}" be made and competent funds remitted: Provided 
also^ That the said district- and assistant pavmasters shall make pay¬ 
ments to the militia in the service of the United States when required 
by the Secretarv of AAr or the Paymaster of the Armv. 

Sec. 6. That the assistant district paymiasters shall receive the })ay 
and emoluments of a captain of infantry and forage for one horse. 

Sec. 6. That the district and assistant district paymasters shall 
severallv give bonds, with good and sufficient security, to the United 
States for the faithful performan(*e of their duties, in such sums as 
shall be lequired bv the Paymaster of the Army, under the direction 
of the War Department, and shall be subject to the Rules and Articles 
of War. 

Sec. T. That this act shall continue in force until the termination of 
the war in which the United States are now engaged with the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof, 
and for one yxar thereafter and no longer. 

May 17, 1815. — . . . And the President of the United States has further 

judged i)roper, that, in addition to the provision for a general staff, whicli is specitie- 
ally made by the aet of Congress, certain officers shall be retained, under the spe¬ 
cial autjiority given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge, 
without material injury to the service, and that the following shall be the 

(JENERAL STAFF, 

* * * 

A Paymaster of the Army. 

Two deputy i)aymasters-general and two assistant deputy paymasters, to be pro- 
visionallv retained. 

* * * 

{General Orders, A. and I. G.^s Office.) 


Act of AjJril 18IG {:d Stats., m). ' 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further i)rovisions for the Army 

of the United States. 


* -X- -X- 

Sec. 3. Thtit the Dcptirtment shall consist of one Payunaster- 
General of the Army^with the annual salary of two thousand live 
hundred dollars, and that . . . there be appointed one paymaster 


464 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

to each battalion of the corps of artillei^, who, . . . , in addition 

to the regular and punctual payment of their respective . . . 

corps, shall discharge the duties of district paymasters within such dis¬ 
trict as shall from time to time be assigned them by the Paymaster- 
General, under the direction of the Secretary of War: Provided^ That 
. . . battalion paymasters may be taken either from the subalterns 

of the Army or citizens and appointed by the President of the United 
States: That . . . battalion paymasters shall receive 

the pay and emoluments of a major, and shall be allowed a capable non¬ 
commissioned officer as clerk, who while so employed shall receive 
double pay and the actual expense of transportation while traveling 
under orders in the discharge of his duty. 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the . . . battalion pay¬ 

masters to pay all the regular troops; and to ensure punctuality and 
responsibility correct reports shall be made to the Paymaster-General 
once in two months, showing the disposition of the funds previously 
transmitted, with accurate estimates for the next payment of such regi¬ 
ment, garrison, or department as may have been assigned to each; and 
whenever any paymaster shall fail to transmit such estimate or neglect 
to render his vouchers to the Paymaster-General for settlement of his 
accounts more than six months after receiving funds he shall be recalled 
and another appointed in his place. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That all officers of the Pay . . . Department shall, pre¬ 

vious to their entering on the duties of their respective offices, give 
good and sufficient bonds to the United States, fully to account for all 
moneys and public property which they may receive, in such sum as 
the Secretary of War shall direct; and all paymasters . . . shall 

be subject to the Rules and Articles of War in the same manner as com¬ 
missioned officers: Provided also^ That all officers of the Pay . 
Department be submitted to the Senate for their continuation in the 
same manner as officers of the Army. 

Sec. 7. . . . : Provided^ That whenever more than the author¬ 

ized quantity is required the value of the extra articles shall be 
deducted from the soldiers’ pay, and in like manner the soldiers shall 
receive pay according to the annual estimated value for such author¬ 
ized articles of uniform as shall not have been issued to him in each 
year: Provided also^ That the manner of issuing and accounting for 
clothing shall be established in the general regulations of the War 
Department. 

Sec. 8. That in all cases where a soldier of the Regular Army shall 
have been discharged from the service of the United States, and cloth¬ 
ing shall be due to said soldier, it shall be the duty of the Paymaster- 
General to cause the same to be paid for according to the price paid in 
the seventh section of this act. 

* * * 

Act of April m, 1816 {3 Stats., SOT). 

AN ACT supplementary to an Act entitled “An act granting bounties in land and 
extra pay to certain Canadian volunteers. ” 

That instead of the Treasurer of the United States, as is prescribed 
by the third section of the act to which this is a supplement, the Pay¬ 
master of the Army of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


465 


ized and required to pa}' each of the persons [citizens of the United 
States anterior to the late war, and at its commencement inhabiting 
Canada, but who during the war joined the armies of the United 
States as volunteers] described in the act above recited, according to 
the provisions thereof, three months’ pay in addition to that to which 
they may have been previously entitled, according to the rank they 
respective!}' held in the Army of the United States during the late 
war. 


Act of March S, 1817 {3 Stats., 399). 

AN ACT for the relief of certain officers. 

That the Paymaster-General be authorized, and is hereby required, 
to pay the general staff (the volunteer aids excepted) of the governor 
of the Illinois Territory, while in service in the year one thousand 
eight hundred and twelve; and that to each one be allowed the pay and 
emoluments of a major of infantry. 

Act of March 18^21 {3 Stats.., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 9. That there shall be one Paymaster-General with the present 
compensation, and fourteen paymasters with the pay and emoluments 
of regimental paymasters. 

* * * 

Act of March 2, 1827 {4- Stats.., 238). 

AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-Office Dei)artment. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the . . . Paymaster-General ... be author¬ 

ized to frank and to receive letters and packets by post free of 
postage. . . . 

* * * 


Act of July 1832 {J^ Stats., 580). 

AN ACT supplementary to the several acts making appropriation for the civil and 
military service during the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the district paymasters of the 
Army of the United States, in addition to the payments required to be 
made by them to the regular troops, to make payment to all other 
troops in the service of the United States whenever required thereto 
by order of the President. 

Act of March 2, 1833 {If Stats., 642). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year one thou¬ 
sand eight hundred and thirty-three. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of War be authorized, at his discretion, 
out of the monies appropriated by this or any former act for the pay- 

S. Doc. 229-30 


406 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


nient of the militia ordered into the service of the United States accord¬ 
ing to law during the last year, to allow and pa}^ to the district pay¬ 
masters of the Army of the United States employed in making such 
payments a commission on the sums respectively paid by them, not 
exceeding one per centum upon the amounts. 


Ael of July me {6 Stats., 117). 

AN ACT authorizing tlie appointment of additional i)aymasters, and for other 

purposes. 

That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, author¬ 
ized and empowered to appoint three additional paymasters, to be 
attached to the Pay Department of the Army: Provided, That the 
appointments be submitted to the Senate for their confirmation in the 
same manner as other officers of the Army. 

Sec. 2. That the officers appointed in virtue of this act shall per¬ 
form the same duties and receive the same pay and allowances as the 
present paymasters of the Army, and shall in like manner be subject 
to the rules and Articles of War, and previous to entering upon the 
duties of their office shall give such bonds to the United States as the 
Secretary of War rna}^ direct for the faithful performance of their 
duties. 

Sec. 3. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service of 
the United States, so that the paymasters authorized b}" law shall not 
be deemed sufficient to enable them to pay the troops with proper 
punctualit}^, it shall be lawful for the President to assign to any officer 
of the Army the duty of paymaster, who, while so assigned, shall per¬ 
form the same duty, give the same bond, be subject to the same liability, 
and receive the same emoluments as are now provided for paymaster 
of the Army: Provided, however, That the number of officers so 
assigned shall not exceed one for every two regiments of militia or 
volunteers: And provided also. That the whole emoluments of said 
officers, including their pay and allowances in the line, shall not exceed 
the pay and emoluments of a paymaster. 


Act (f July 5, 1838 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase tlie present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 


-X- * 

Sec. 3. That so much of the act passed the twentv-ninth day of 
April, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, entitled ‘'An act making 
provision for the Corps of Ungineers,” as provides that one pa 3 unaster 
shall be taken from the subalterns of the Corps of Engineers, be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed; and that the pavmaster so authorized 
and provided be attached to the Pay Department,‘^and be in every respect 
placed on the footing of other paymasters of the Army. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 20. That whenever suitable noncommissioned officers or privates 
can not be procured from the line of the Army to serve as paymaster’s 
clerks, paymasters be, and hereb}^ are, authorized and empowered, by 


THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


467 


and with the approbation of the Secretary of War, to employ citizens 
to perform that dut}^, at salaries not to exceed five hundred dollars per 
annum each. 

* * * 

Sec. 24. That hereafter the officers of the Pay . . . depart¬ 

ments of the Army shall receive the pay and emoluments of officers 
of cavalry of the same grades, respectively, according to which they 
are now paid by existing laws. 

Sec. 25. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service 
of the United States, so that the paymasters authorized b}" law shall 
not be deemed sufficient to enable them to pay the troops with proper 
punctualit}^, it shall be lawful for the President to appoint as many 
additional paymasters as he shall deem necessary, who shall perform 
the same duty, give the same bond, be subject to the same liability, 
and receive the same pay and emoluments as are now provided for pay¬ 
masters of the Army: Provided^ however^ That the number so appointed 
shall not exceed one for every two regiments of militia or volunteers: 
And provided also^ That the persons so appointed shall continue in 
service only so long as their services are required to pay militia or vol¬ 
unteers. 

* * * 

Sec. 31. That . . . no officer of the line of the Army shall here¬ 

after be employed as acting paymaster, ... if such extra employ¬ 
ment require that he be separated from his regiment or company, or 
otherwise interfere with the performance of the military duties proper: 
Provided^ That when officers of the Army are now employed . . . 

in the . . . pay departments as contemplated in this section, they 

may be continued therein not exceeding one year, unless the conven¬ 
ience of the service will admit of their withdrawal sooner. 

* * * 

Act of July 7, 18S8 {6 Stats. ^ 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled “An act to increase the present military 

establishment of the United States, and for other purposes,” approved July 5, 

1838. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

* * * 

Ninth. That the said act shall be so construed as to allow the Pay¬ 
master-General ... of the Army the additional rations therein 
granted to officers of the line and staff for every five years’ service. 

Auqmt 11, 1842 {5-504 ).—The Paymaster-General was directed to ascertain and 
certify what would have been due to the militia called out by the State of Georgia, 
during the Seminole, Cherokee, and Creek campaigns, or for the suppression of Indian 
hostilities in Florida and Alabama, if the volunteers and militia had been duly called 
and mustered into the service of the United States. 

Act (f August ‘23., 18{5 Stats. ^ 512). 

AN ACT respecting the organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That within one month after the passage of this act the 
offices of . . . three paymasters . . . shall be abolished, and 

that number of paymasters . . . shall be discharged by the Presi- 


468 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


dent, and they shall be allowed three months’ pay, in addition to the 
pay and emoluments to which they may be entitled at the time of their 
discharge. 

® * * -X- 

Act of June 17^ 18Jf {9 Stats. ^ 17). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Pay Department of the Army. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint 
three additional paymasters, to be attached to the Pa}^ Department of 
the Army. 

Sec. 2. That the officers appointed in virtue of this act shall per¬ 
form the same duties, receive the same pay and allowances as the 
present paymasters of the Army, and shall, in like manner, be subject 
to the rules and Articles of War, and, previous to entering upon the 
duties of their office, shall give such bonds to the United States as the 
Secretary of War may direct, for the faithful performance of their 
duties. 


Act of March 3, 18JA {9 Stats., m). 

AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general officers, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to 
add to the Pay Department of the Army two deputy paymaster- 
generals, with the pay and allowances, each, of a paymaster of the 
Army; and the officers so appointed shall give such bonds as the 
President shall, from time to time, direct: Provided, That the deputy 
paymaster-generals shall, in addition to paying troops, superintend 
the payment of armies in the field. 

Sec. 13. That the officers of the Pay Department shall have rank 
corresponding with the rank to which their pa}" and allowances are 
assimilated: Provided, That paymasters shall not, in virtue of such 
rank, be entitled to command in the line or other staff departments 
of the Army: Provided also. That the right to command in the Pay 
Department, between officers having the same rank, shall be in favor 
of the oldest in service in the department, without regard to the date 
of commission under which they may be acting at the time. 

Sec. 14. That all paymasters hereafter to be appointed by the Presi¬ 
dent for the volunteer service of the United States shall be nominated 
to the Senate for confirmation to such office. 

* * * 

Sec. 22. That all officers appointed . . . under this act shall 

be discharged at the close of the war with Mexico. 

Act of July 19, 18If {9 Stats., 247). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “ An act supplemental to an act entitled ‘An act 
providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and 
the Republic of Mexico,’ ” and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That so much of . . . the act of the third March, 

eighteen hundred and forty-seven, as requires the discharge at the 


THE FAY DKFAKTMENT. 


409 


close of the war with xMexico of . . . the two deputy paymasters, 

as authorized by the twelfth section of the last-mentioned act, 
be, and the same is hereb}^ repealed: Provided^ That no vacancy 
happening under the provisions so repealed shall be filled up until 
further authorized by law: And provided fyrthe 7 \ That the ten addi¬ 
tional paymasters appointed in virtue of the said foregoing act of third 
March, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, shall be retained in service 
until the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and forty-nine. 

-X- * * ‘ 

July 29, 184S {9-339). —Paymaster-General to establish regulations for the pay¬ 
ment of the three months’ extra pay allowed to ollieers and men who served in the 
Mexican war, by the act of July 19, 1848 (9-247). 


Act of August i^, 18Jf {9 Stats., 303). 

AX ACT concerning the Pay Department of the Army. 

That the Paymaster-General be, and he is hereb}?^, authorized to allow 
any of the paymasters of the Army who shall have been employed in 
the payment of volunteers during the late war with Mexico such a 
commission not exceeding one-half of one per centum on all sums dis¬ 
bursed by them as aforesaid as he shall deem a reasonable compensa¬ 
tion for the risk and labor attending such service: Provided, That the 
said commission to any one paymaster shall not exceed one thousand 
dollars per annum from the commencement to the close of the war. 

Sec. 2. That the said Paymaster-Geneml may, in his discretion, 
}dlow to any paymaster’s clerk, in lieu of the pay now allowed by law, 
an annual salary of seven hundred dollars. 

Act of Afar ch 18f9 (.9 Stats., 350). 

AX ACT concerning the Pay Department of the Army. 

That the Pay Department of the Army shall consist of a Pay^master- 
General, who shall have the rank of colonel, and the same pay and 
allowances as are at present provided by law, and the same tenure of 
office as the heads of other disbursing departments of the Army; two 
deputy payrnasters-general with the same rank, pay, and allowances as 
are now provided by law for such officers, and the same tenure of office 
as officers of like grade in other disbursing departments of the Army, 
and twenty-five paymasters, with the same rank, pay, and allowances 
as are now provided by law for such officers, and the same tenure of 
office as officers of like grade in other disbursing departments of the 
Army. That it shall be the duty of all disbursing officers of the Pay 
Department to renew their bonds, or furnish additional security, at 
least once in four years or as much oftener as the President may direct. 
That the officers of the Pay Department provided for by the first sec¬ 
tion of this act shall consist of the Paymaster-General, the two deputy 
payrnasters-general now in commission, the fifteen paymasters who 
were in service under the acts in force at the commencement of the 
war with Mexico, and ten paymasters to be selected from the additional 
paymasters now in service, and the thirteen paymasters authorized by 
the acts of the seventeenth of June, eighteen hundred and forty-six, 
and the third of March, eighteen hundred and forty-seven. 

July 29, 1850 { 9-562 ).—Settlement of claims for extra pay granted to officers and 
men who served in the ]\Iexican war, transferred from the Pay Department to the 
Second Auditor of the Treasury. 


470 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GENERAL STAEE OF U. R. ARMY. 


Act of March 1851 {9 Stats. ^ 595). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid and disal)led 
soldiers of the Army of the United States. 

* * 

Sec. 2. That . . . the Payitiaster-(Teiiei-{il . . . shall he 

ex officio coiiiitiissioner of the same. 

-X- -X- -X- 

Act of August SU 185^2 {10 Stats. ^ 105). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of .June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. 

* ^ 5 - * 

Sec. 5. That paymasters’ clerks shall be entitled to receive one 
ration per day when on duty at their stations, to l)e commuted at the 
price now authorized when traveling- on duty. 

* * 

Marchs, 1859 [11-431 ).—Board of commissioners of the Soldiers’ Home reduced; 
Paymaster-General no longer a member thereof. 

March 19, 1862 [12-616 ).—The Paymaster-General to apply moneys appropriated 
by any State for the payment of its volunteers, for the payments designated by the 
legislative act making the appropriation, in the same manner as if appropriated by 
Congress. 

Marchs, 1863 [12-825 ).—The Paymaster-General was directed to take immediate 
measures for the prompt payment (within sixty days from the passage of the resolu¬ 
tion) of the sick and wounded soldiers in convalescent camps, hospitals, and else¬ 
where. 

Aot^ of June 20^ 186Jf, {IS Stats. ^ 15 


AN ACT to increase the ])ay of soldiers in the Ignited States Army, and for other 

purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 10. That from and after the passage of this act the pa}^ of 

clerks of paymasters in the Arnn^ of the United States shall ))e twelve 
hundred dollars per. annum without rations. 

* * -X- X- 

Act of June 25, 1865 {IS Stats-^ 181). 

AN ACT to ])rovide for the examination of certain officers of the Army. ' 

That every . . . paymaster and additional paymaster shall, as 

soon as practicable, be ordered to appear for examination as to his 
qualifications before a l)oard to be composed of three stall' officers of 
the corps to which he belongs, of recognized merit and fitness, of 
whom two at least shall be officers of volunteers, which board shall 
make a careful examination as to the qualifications of all officers who 
may appear before them in pursuance of this act, and shall also keep 
minutes and make a full and true record of the examination in each 
case. And all members of such boards of examination shall, before 
proceeding to the discharge of their duties as herein provided, swear 
or affirm that they will conduct all examinations with impartiality, and 
with a sole view to the qualifications of the person or persons'to be 
examined, and that they will not divulge the vote of any member upon 
the examination of any officer who may appear before them. 

Sec. 2. That such boards of examination shall be convened under 
the direction of the Secretary of War, by the . . . Riymaster- 


THE 1»AY DEPARTMENT. 


471 


General, at convenient places; and general rules of examination and a 
standard of qualifications shall l)e prescribed by said officers, subject to 
the approval of the Secretary of War, and shall be published in gen¬ 
eral orders. 

Sec. 8. That after such general orders shall have been published 
for sixty days, if any officer Avho shall then be ordered before a board 
of examiners, under the provisions of this act, shall fail for thirty 
days, after receiving such special order, to report himself as directed, 
all his pay and allowances shall (‘ease and be forfeited until he does 
appear and re})ort for examination; and if he shall still thereafter fail 
for a further period of thirty days so to appear, he shall thereupon ))e 
dropped from the rolls of the Army: Provided, hoivever. That if such 
failure to appear and report shall liave been occasioned by Avounds or 
sickness, or other physical disability, then there shall l)e no forfeiture 
of pay until thirty days after such disability has been removed; but if 
in sixty days after the disability is remoA^ed" the officer shall not report 
himself, he shall then be dropped from the rolls as in other cases. 

Sec. 4. That if the board of examination shall report that any officer 
does not possess the recpiisite business qualifications they shall foi’AA^ard 
the record of the examination of such officer to the head of the bureau 
to Avdiich he may belong, and if the head of such bureau shall approA^e 
the finding and report of the board he shall forAvard the same through 
the Secretary of War to the President of the United States, and if the 
President shall confirm the same the officer so failing in his examina¬ 
tion shall, if commissioned, be dismissed from the service .Avith one 
month’s pay, and if not yet commissioned his appointment shall be 
revoked. And if the board shall report that any officer fails to pass a 
satisfactory extimination by reason of intemperance, gambling, or other 
immorality, and if the head of the bureau shall approve the finding and 
report of the board, and the same being communicated, as befoi’e pro¬ 
vided, to the President and confirmed by him, then such officer shall 
be dismissed from the service Avithoiit pay and shall not be permitted 
to reenter the service as an officer: Provided, That such dismissal shall 
not relieve him from liability under existing laws for any offense he 
may have committed. 

Sec. 5. That the boards of examination shall forward all their rec¬ 
ords of examination to the heads of the bureaus to Avhich they apper¬ 
tain, and such records shall be filed in the proper bureaus with a suit¬ 
able index, and any officer who may desire it shall be entitled to receiA^e 
a copy of the reccird in his oAvn case upon paying the cost of copying 
the same. 

March 3, 1865 {13-495).—Xmowni due for rations sold to officers in the field to be 
reported monthly to the Paymaster-General, to he deducted from payment next 
following such purchases; settelment for tobacco sold to enlisted men to be deducted 
from their pay in same manner as provided for the settlement of clothing accounts. 

Act of J}dy 28^ 1866^ {IJf, StoU., 310). 

AX ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the GoA’ernment for 

the year ending June thirtieth, eighteenhiundred and sixty-seven, and for other 

purposes. ^ ^ ^ 

Sec. 15. That in the payment of the additional bounty herein pro- 

1 Section 12 grants $100 bounty to men enlisted after April 19, 1861, who served 
faithfully for three years, and section i:> $50 bounty to men enlisted after April 14, 
1861, who served tvvo years or were discharged for wounds received in line of <luty, 
and to widows, etc., of such as died in the servi(;e. 




472 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


vided for it shall be the duty of the Paymaster-General, under such 
rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War, 
to cause to be examined the accounts of each and every soldier who 
makes application therefor, and if found entitled thereto shall pay 
said bounties. 

* * * 

Act of July ^5, 186G {IJf. Stats, ^ 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peat^e establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 18. That the Pay Department of the Army shall hereafter con¬ 
sist of one Paymaster-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
a brigadier-general; two assistant paymasters-general, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; two deputy paymasters- 
general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of 
cavalry; and sixty paymasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
majors of cavalry, to be selected from persons who have served as 
additional paymasters. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Paymaster-General . . . shall here¬ 

after be appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong, 
and no person shall be appointed to any vacancy created l)y this act in 
the Pay . . . departments until he shall have passed the exami¬ 

nation now required by law. 

* * * 

Sec. 25. That [the cost of articles purchased from the Subsistence 
Department bj^ officers and men] if not paid for when purchased, 

. . . the amount due the Government shall be deducted by the 

paymaster at the payment next following such purchase: Provided^ 
That this section shall not go into effect until the first day of July, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven. 

* * * 


Act of March 2, 1867 {U Stats., f85). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the Paymaster-General be authorized to pay, under such 
regulations as the Secretary of War shall prescribe, in addition to the 
amount received by them, for the traveling expenses of such California 
and Nevada volunteers as were discharged in New Mexico, Arizona, 
and Utah, and at points distant from the place or places of enlistment, 
such proportionate sum according to the distance travelled as have 
been paid to the troops of other States similarly situated. . . . 

3/arc/i 2, 1867 (JJ-57i).—Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons. 
This not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of 
debts incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 


THE PAY DEl’AKTMEI^T. 


473 


.16'?^ of March 16, 1868 {IS Stats., 4£). 

AN ACT to facilitiite the settlement of paymasters’ accoimts. 

That the proper accountino- officers of the Treasury ])e, and they 
are herel)v, authorized, iu the settlement of accounts of pa 3 miasters of 
the Army, to allow such credits for overpayments made in good faith 
on public account since the commencement of the rebellion, and prior 
to the passage of this act, as shall appear to them to be just, 1)}^ such 
vouchers and testimony as they shall require. 

Act of March S, 1869 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 

ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions . . . in the Pay^ Department . . . 

March 8, 1869 {15-834 ).—All bounty claims remaining in the office of the Pay¬ 
master-General on May 1, 1869, to be transferred to the Second Auditor for settle¬ 
ment. 

May 15, 1872 {17-117 ).—Paymasters to issue deposit books to enlisted men deposit¬ 
ing their savings with them in sums not less than five dollars; four per cent interest 
allowed on sums not less than fifty dollars on deposit for six months or more; system 
of deposits to be regulated by the Secretary of War; amount of deposits and cloth¬ 
ing balances payable, on discharge, out of the appropriations for “pay of the. Army” 
for the then current fiscal year. 

Act of June f 1872 {17 Stats., 219). 

AN AC'T to enable the President to appoint a Paymaster-General of the Army. 

That the sixth section of the act of third March, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-nine, making appropriations for the support of the Army, is 
so far modified that the President is herelw authorized to appoint a 
l^iymaster-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel, 
said appointment to date from the time the appointee assumed the 
duties of the office, to till the yacanc}^ now existing. 

Act of March 2, 1875 {18 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT fixing the number of paymasters in the Army of the United States. 

That the number of paymasters is herebj^ established tit tiftjN instead 
of sixty, as was designated in the eighteenth section of the act of July 
twent 3 ^-eighth, eighteen hundred and sixtj^-six; said pa 3 miasters to 
have the rank, pa 3 ^, and emoluments of majors of cayaliy. 

Sec. 2. That so much of said eighteenth section as relates to the 
persons from whom said paymasters shall be elected be, and is hereb 3 ^, 
repealed. 

Resolution of March 3, 1875 {18 Stats., 524). 

JOINT RESOLUTION explanatory of an act entitled “An act fixing the number of 

j)aymasters in the Army of the United States,” approved IMarch second, eighteen 

hundred and sevent 3 ’^-five. 

That the intent and meaning of an act entitled *CAn act fixing the 
number of pajuiiasters in the Army of the United States,” approved 


474 LEGISLATIVE HISTOIIY OF GENEllAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


March two, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, was to authorize the 
appointment of such additional number of paymasters with the rank 
of major as will mak'^ the total number of paymasters with the rank of 
major fifty, and no more. And so much of section eleven hundred and 
ninety-four of the lie vised Statutes as applies to the paymasters of the 
rank of major bo, and the same is hereby, repealed. 


Act of July 1870 {19 States., 95). 


AN ACT establishing the rank of the Paymaster-General. 

That from and after the passage of this act the rank of the Pa^^mas- 
ter-General of the United States Army shall be brigadier-general; but 
no pay or allowances shall be made to said officer other than from the 
date of appointment under this act. 

July 24, 1876 Appropriations under head “Pay Department” to^ be 

accounted for by disbursing officers under the title “Pay, etc., of the Army, 1877,” 
so that the total amount shall not be exceeded. 

March S, 1877 {19-270), repeals section 1194, Revised Statutes, now applying only to 
grades in the Pay Department above rank of major. 

December 15, 1877 {20-7).—K\\ papers in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, etc., 
relating to payment of bounties, etc., to be turned over to the Paymaster-General. 

REVISED STATUTES—2ND EDITION—1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of— 

* * -X- 

A Pay Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1182. The Pay Department of the Army shall consist of one 
Paymaster-General, with the rank of colonel; two assistant paymas- 
ters-general, with the rank of colonel of cavalry; two deputy paymas- 
ters-general, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and sixty 
paymasters, with the rank of major of cavaliy. 

Sec. 1183. Officers of the Pay Department shall not be entitled, in 
virtue of their rank, to command in the line or in other stafi' corps. 

Sec. 1184. When volunteers or militia are called into the service of 
the United States, and the officers of the Paymaster’s Department are 
not deemed by the President sufficient for the punctual payment of 
the troops, he ma}^ appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, and add to said corps as many paymasters, to be called addi¬ 
tional paymasters, with the rank of major, not exceeding one for every 
two regiments of volunteers or militia, as he may deem necessary. 

Sec. 1185. Additional paymasters shall be retained in service only 
so long as they may be required for the payment of volunteers and 
militia, as provided herein. 

Sec. 1186. The Paymaster-General shall perform the duties of his 
office under the direction of the President. 

Sec. 1187. The deputy paymasters-genoral shall, in addition to pay¬ 
ing troops, superintend the payment of armies in the field. 

Sec. 1188. The paymasters and additional paymasters shall pay the 
regular troops, and shall pay all other troops in the service of the 
United States when required to do so by order of the President. 

Sec. 1189. The Army shall be paid in such manner that the arrears 


THE PAY DEI’AKTMENT. 475 

shall at no time exceed two months, unless circumstances shall render 
further arrears unavoidable. 

'Sec. 1190. Paymasters and additional paymasters shall he allowed 
a capable noncommissioned officer or private as clerk. When suitable 
noncommissioned officers or privates can not be procured from the line 
of the Army, they are authorized, hy and with the approbation of the 
Secretary of War, to employ citizens as clerks, at a salary of twelve 
hundred dollars a year. 

Sec. 1191. All officers of the . . . Pa}^ Department . . . 

shall, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, give 
good and sufficient bonds to the United States, in such sums as the 
Secretaiy of War may direct, faithfully to account for all public 
mone 3 "s and properW which they mav receive. The President may, 
at any time, increase the sums so prescribed. . . . 

Sec. 1192. All disbursing officers of the Pay Department shall renew 
theii bonds or furnish additional securitv at least once in four 3 "ears, 
and as much oftener as the President mav direct. 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Pavinaster-General shall be appointed 1 ) 3 " 

selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1194.^ Until otherwise directed hy law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Pa 3 " . . . 

departments. 

* * * • 

Sec. 1299. Paymasters to deduct amount due by officers* for rations ])urchased on 
credit from the payment made next after such purchase shall have been reported to 
tlie I’aymaster-General. 

Sec. *1300. I’aymasters to deduct amount due by enlisted men for articles purchased 
on credit from the Subsistence Department froin the payment made next after such 
purchase shall have been reported to the Paymaster-General. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1305. Paymasters to issue deposit books to enlisted men who may deposit 
their savings with them in sums not less than five dollars. 

Sec. 1306. Four per cent interest allowed on sums not less than fifty dollars on 
deposit for six months or more. 

Sec. 1307. System of deposits to be regulated by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1308. Amounts of deposits and clothing balances payable, on discharge, out of 
the appropriations for “pay of the Army” for the current fiscal year. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 


Act of March, 3^ 1883 {2^2 Stats. ^ JfiT). 

AX ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other i)urposes. 

* * * 


I’AY DEPARTMENT. 

For pay of the Army That vacancies that 
may hereafter occur in the Pay Corps of the Army in the grades of 
lieutenant-colonel and major, by reason of death, resignation, dismissal, 
or retirement, shall not be tilled by original appointment until the Pay 

^So much of this section as applies to paymasters of the rank of major was repealed 
bv joint resolution of March 3, 1875. The act of March 3, 1877, repeals the whole of 
tins section so far as it applies to the Pay Department. 






476 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Corps shall hy such vacancies be reduced to forty paymasters, and the 
number of the Pay Corps shall then be established at forty, and no 
more, . . . 

Act of July S, 188Jf, {23 Stats., 107). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

* -x- * 

Pay Department.— . . . Provided, That hereafter any pay¬ 
master of the rank of major who has served twent}^ years in the 
United States Army as a commissioned officer may, upon his own 
application or by direction of the President, be placed upon the retired 
list of the Army until the Pay Department shall be reduced to thirty- 
five members, as follows: One Paymaster-General, with the rank of 
brigadier-general; two assistant paymasters-general, with the rank of 
colonel; three deputy paymasters-general, with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and twenty-nine paymasters, with the rank of major; and no 
more appointments of paymasters shall be made in the Pay Department 
until the number shall be reduced below twenty-nine majors, and 
thereafter the number of officers in the Pay Department shall not 
exceed thirty-five: Provided furthei\ That nothing herein shall be 
construed to change fhe present relative rank of any officer now in the 
Pay Corps. . . . 

* -X- -X- 

August C, 1894 {28-233 ).—Sums known as detained pay shall, when repaid, become 
a charge against the fund “pay of the Army” for the year in which enlisted men 
have been or may be discharged. 

Act of July 16, 1892^ {27 Stats., 17f). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
Jvine thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Pay Department.— . . . Provided, That no appointments shall 

be made to the grade of major in the Pay Department of the Arnn^ 
until the number of majors in that department is reduced below 
twenty-five, and thereafter the number of officers of that grade in the 
Pay Department shall be fixed at twenty-five: And yirovided furtJm\ 
That the Secretary of War is also authorized to arrange for the pay¬ 
ment of the enlisted men serving at posts or places where no pay¬ 
master is on duty, by check or by currency, to be sent to them by 
mail or express at the expense and risk of the United States. 

* * * 

Act of Fehruary 27, 1893 {27 Stats., 478). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Pay Department.— . . . Provided, That hereafter no appoint¬ 

ments shall be made to the grade of major in the Pay Department of 


^Number of paymaster clerks to be reduced one for every paymaster reduced. 
Provision repeated by act of February 27, 1893. 






THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


477 


the Arni}^ until the number of majors in that department is reduced 
below twenty-five, and thereafter the number of officers of that grade 
in the Pay Department shall be fixed at twentj’^-five. 

* * * 


Act of February 1896 {28 Stats. ^ 66Jj). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, and for other purposes 

-x- * -X- 


FOR PAY OF GENERAL STAFF. 

* * 

Pay Department.— . . . Providef That there shall be no 

appointinent of major in the Pay Department until the number of 
officers in that g-rade shall be reduced below twenty, and thereafter 
the number of such officers in that grade shall be fixed at twenty. 

* * * 

Act of May 1898 {30 Stats., 390). 

AN ACT making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for sup¬ 
port of the Army for the fiscal year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

PAY DEPARTMENT. 


* * * 

All the money hereinbefore appropriated under ‘‘Pay Department,” 
except for “mileage to officers,” shall be disbursed and accounted for 
by the Pay Department as pay of the Army, and for that purpose 
shall constitute one fund. 

* * vfr 


Act (f March 2, 1899 {^30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of . . . a Pa}^ Department, . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Pay Department . . . shall consist 

of the officers . . . now provided by law: . . . And provided 

also. That no person in civil life shall hereafter be appointed a . . . 

paymaster, . . . until he shall have passed satisfactorily such 

examination as to his moral, mental, and physical qualifications as may 
be prescribed by the President; and no such person shall be appointed 
who is more than forty-four years of age: Provided further. That in 
case of the appointment of an officer who has served in a similar capac¬ 
ity during the war with Spain and has demonstrated his moral, mental, 
and physical qualifications for the position, then such examination shall 
not be required. 

^ M. Ji. A6. 


478 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in serv¬ 
ice, or to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Thirtv additional paymasters, with the rank of major. 

* * * 

May 26, 1900 Allotments of pay of enlisted men to pass to the credit of 

disbursing officer, when paid one month subsequent to the month in which such 
allotments accrued, if lie has used due diligence in obtaining and using all informa¬ 
tion that may have been received at the War Department relative to the grantors. 
Paymaster-General to collect erroneous payments made because of the failure of the 
proper officer to report whatever facts rendered allotment made unpayable. 

Act of February 1901 {31 Stats., —). 

AN At’T to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of . . .a Pay Department. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 19. . . . Payments to the Nurse Corps shall be made by 

the Pay Department. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 21. That the Pay Department shall consist of one Paymaster- 
General with the rank of brigadier-general, three assistant paymasters- 
general with the rank of colonel, four deputy payinasters-general with 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, twenty paymasters with the rank of 
major, and twenty-five paymasters with the rank of captain, mounted: 
Promded, That all vacancies in the grade of colonel and lieutenant- 
colonel created or caused by this section shall be filled by promotion 
according to seniority, as now prescribed by law, and no more appoint¬ 
ments to the grade of major and paymaster shall be made until the 
number of majors and paymasters is reduced below twenty": And pro¬ 
vided, That persons who have served in the Volunteer "Army since 
April twent 3 ^-first, eighteen hundred and nineG^-eight, as additional 
paymasters may be appointed to positions in the grade of captain, 
created by this section. So long as there 'remain surplus majors an 
equal number of vacancies shall be held in the grade of captain, so 
that the total number of paymasters authorized by this section shall 
not be exceeded at any^ time. 

* " * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding perma¬ 
nent appointments in the . . . Pay Department, . . . includ¬ 

ing those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain 
and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seven¬ 
teen, twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted 
according to seniority^ in the several grades, as now provided by law, 
and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply^ to vacancies 
which can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for which the 
officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any 
vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall 
occur, which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section, 
it shall be filled by detail from the line of the Army, and no more 


THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 


479 


permanent appointments shall be made in those departments or corps 
after the original vacancies created by this act shall have been filled. 
Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, 
under such system of examination as the President may from time to 
time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, 
and officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be 
eligible for selection in any staff department until they shall have 
served two years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided b}" law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro¬ 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pa}', and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided^ That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any stafi' corps or depart¬ 
ment holding permanent appointments the chief of such staff corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

8ec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this 
act shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

* * * 

Act of March 190J {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * 

Provided., That appointments to fill original vacancies ... in 
the grade of captain in the . . . Pay Department may be made 

from officers of volunteers commissioned since April twenty-first, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. . . . 




IX-THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


S. Doc. 229 


81 


481 









i 



■t 


<* 




J0I 

1 ’ • • 
I ■'». 



y 

I 














THE COHTS OF E>(il\EERS. 


The earliest reeords rehitiv^e to ’vvluit is now known as the Corps of 
Engineers are very ineoniplete, but the journals of the Continental 
Congress indicate the gradual development of the corps under the 
peculiar conditions then existing. Thus, on dune Id, 1775, the day 
l)efore the battle of Bunker Hill, one chief engineer and two assist¬ 
ants were authorized for the "'Grand Arm}",” and one chief engineer 
and two assistants "iifa separate department.” 

The first formal establishment of a Corps of^ Engineers dates from 
iMarch 11, 177h. The corps was disbanded in November, 1783, but 
partially revived May h, 175H, and perfected by the act of March 16, 
1802. In the earlier period of its organization the duties now per¬ 
taining to the Corps of Engineers were divided between two different 
branches, but although, as early as July 25,1777, a ““geographer and sur¬ 
veyor of the roads” was authorized, the special functions of topograph¬ 
ical enginers were not specifically provided for until the act of March 
3,1813, authorizing eight topographical engineers and eight assistants. 
In August, 1818, a separate Topographical Bureau was established in 
the IVar Department, under the immediate direction of the Secretary 
of War and the Chief Engineer. June 21, 1831, the Topographical 
Bureau was constituted l)v the Secretary of ATar a distinct bureau of 
the War Department; and by the act of July 5, 1838, an independent 
corps of topographical engineers was created. It Avas abolished by 
the act of March 3, 1863, and merged into the Corps of Engineers. 

June—, 1775.—Col. Richard Gridley (Massachusetts). 

Aug. 5, 1776.—Col. Rufus Putiiaiu (Massachusetts). 

July 22, 1777.—Col. (Brig. Gen., Nov. 17, 1777; Maj. Gen., Nov. 16, 1781) Louis du 
Portail (France). 

Feb. 26, 1795.—Lieut. Col. Stephen Rochefontaine (France), connnanding corps of 
artillerists and engineers. 

May 7, 1798.—Lieut. Col. Henry Burbeck (Alassac^husetts), commanding corps of 
artillerists and engineers. 

July 8, 1802.—Lieut. Col. (Col., Feb. 23, 1808) Jonathan Williams (Pennsylvania). 
July 31, 1812.—Col. Joseph G. Swift (IMassachusetts). 

Nov. 12, 1818.—Col. AValker K. Armistead (Virginia). 

June 1, 1821.—Col. Alexander Macomb (New York). 

May 24, 1828.—Col. Charles (iratiot (Missouri Territory). 

Dec. 7, 1838.—Col. Joseph G. Totten (Connecticut). 

Apr. 22, 1864.—Brig. Gen. Richard Delatield (New' York). 

Aug. 8, 1866.—Brig. Gen. Andrew' A. Humphreys (Pennsylvania). 

June 30, 1879.—Brig. Gen. Horatio G. tVright (Connecticut). 

Mar. 6, 1884.—Brig. Gen. John New'ton (Virginia). 

Oct. 11, 1886.—Brig. Gen. James C. Duane (New' York). 

July 6, 1888.—Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Casey (Rhode Island). 

May 10, 1895.—Brig. Gen. William P. Craighill (Virginia). 

Feb. 1, 1897.—Brig. Gen. John M. AVilson (Washington Territory). 


483 



484 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GENEKAL STAEE OE U. S. ARMY. 


1777-1783. 


(JeograpJier. 

July 25, 1777.—jVIr. Robert Erskine. 

Dee. 4, 17<S0.—Mr. Simeon De Witt. 

May 4, 1781.—]Mr. Thomas Hutchins, for the southern army. 


1813-1838. 

7 'o j) 0 (jn ipIdea I Kii g inrerfi. 

Apr. 12, 1813.—Bvt. Lieut. Col. John AndersoiC (Vermont). 
Sept. 14, 1834.—Bvt. Lieut. Col. John J. Abert (Virginia). 


1838-1863. 

Cor])x of Topograpldail Kiiginecrs. 


July 7, 1838.—Col. John J. Abert (Virginia). 

Se])t. J, 1861.—Col. Stephen H. Long (New Hampshire^. 


lAVhile Colonel Anderson was the senior topographical engineer until his death in 
1834, the Army Register for 1829 gives Maj. Isaac Roberdeau, T. E., as in charge 
of the Topographical Bureau. At his death, January 15, 1829, Major Roberdeau 
was succeeded in that charge by Colonel Abert. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

June 16^ 177f). 

Resolved^ . . . That there be one Chief Engineer at the Grand 

Arim% and that his pay be sixty dollars per month. 

That two assistants be employed under him, and that the pay of each 
of them be twent}" dollars per month. 

That there be one Chief Engineer for the Arm}", in a separate 
department, and two assistants under him; that the pay of the Chief 
Engineer be sixty dollars per month, and the pay of the assistants 
each twenty dollars per month. 

Octoher 3, 1775. 

Resolved., That the committee appointed to repair to the camp do 
confer with Mr. Rittenhouse and einjuire of him whether he appre¬ 
hends he can be of service to the continent as an engineer, and if he 
can, to engage him, and desire he would, with all convenient speed, 
repair to the camp. 

January 16., 1776. 

Resolved^ . . . That if General Washington think proper. Colo¬ 

nel R. Gridley be continued chief engineer in the army at Cambridge. 

That the pay of the assistant engineers in the army at Cambridge 
be 26 dollars and two-thirds per month. 

Xarch ^8, 1776. 

Resolved., That two engineers be employed for the Southern Depart¬ 
ment. 


Marcli 30, 1776. 

The committee proceeded to the election of two engineers for the 
Southern Department; and the ballots being taken, 

John Stadler and Monsieur Massenback were elected. 

Ajjr il 36, 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. Baldwin, the assistant engineer, ordered to 
Canada, be allowed, in consideration of his merit, the pay and rank of 
lieutenant-colonel on the Continental establishment. 


4S5 



486 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Ai^tU ^.9, 1776. 

Major AVrixon declined coiriniLSHioii of Chief Engineer. 

ALaij 18.) 1776. 

Besolved.) . . . That the pa}" of the deputy engineers be raised 

to 80 dollars a month, and that they be allowed rations for themselves 
and forage for their horses when in camp or necessarily absent on 
Continental duty. 

Junem, 1776. 

Resolved.) That Mons. Antoine Felix Weibert, who applies to be 
employed as an engineer in the Continental Army, be recommended to 
General Washington as a person who appears to be qualified to act in 
that capacity; but as he asks no more at present than to be placed in 
a situation in which he may be enabled to evidence his ability, that 
the General be desired to employ him in such a way as he shall judge 
will best conduce to the good of the service and answer Mons. Wei- 
bert’s request. 

Jidy 16, 1776. 

Resolved, That Monsieur Kermovan be appointed an engineer in the 
Continental service, with the pay of 60 dollars a month and the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel. 


Jxdy 28, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Monsieur St. Martin be appointed an engi¬ 
neer, with the rank of lieutenant-ctdonel, and that he be directed to 
repair to New York and put himself under the command of General 
Washington. 

July 29, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Mons. Christopher Pel User, who has suf¬ 
fered considerably by warmly espousing and taking an active part in 
the cause of America, in Canada, be appointed an engineer in the serv¬ 
ice of the United States, with the pay of 60 dollars a month and rank 
of lieutenant-colonel. 


August 0 , 1776. 


Resolved, . . . That Lieutenant-Colonel Rufus Putnam be ap¬ 

pointed an engineer, with the rank of colonel and pay of 60 dollars a 
month. 

Augmt 12) 1776 .—“The Congress liave likewise been pleased to appoint Rufus 
Putnam, esqr., an engineer, and have given him the rank of colonel of the Army.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, New York .) 


August IJi., 1776. 

Resolved, That Monsieur Weibert, now serving in the Continental 
Army at New York as an engineer, be appointed assistant engineer, 
with the rank and pay of lieutenant-colonel. 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


487 


SejJternher 3, 1776, 

Resolved^ That Jeduthan Baldwin, esq., be appointed an engineer 
in the Continental Army, with the rank of colonel and pay of 00 dol¬ 
lars a month. 


Septeinher 19, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Monsieur Jean Louis Imbret, a gentleman 

well recommended as an engineer, be sent to General Washington to 
be employed in that capacity in order to show his abilities, and that 
one month’s pay as a captain be advanced for his expenses. 

Octoher 18, 1776. 

Resolved, That Thaddeus Kosciuszko be appointed an engineer in 
the service of the United States, with the pav of sixty dollars a month 
and the rank of colonel. 


Ajirrl 12, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Count de Vrecourt be appointed an engineer in 
the service of the United States, with the rank and pav of a colonel. 

Alay IJf, 1777. 

Resolved . . . The Commander in Chief and the commander in 

any separate department shall be authorized to allow such quantities 
of forage, and for and during such times as they shall think proper, 
to the . . . chief engineer and his assistants; . . . Provided, 

always, that if any of the officers above mentioned, their deputies or 
assistants, should be allowed forage in consequence of any general order 
hereafter given, and should nevertheless not keep any or so many 
horses as they would be permitted to draw forage foi’, in such case no 
forage shall be issued for more horses than they really have, nor shall 
they at any time thereafter be allowed any forage as back allowance 
or any money in lieu thereof. 

Afay 22, 1777. 

Resolved, That Louis Fleury, engaged by our commissioners in France, 
be sent as a captain of engineers to General Washington. . . . 

July 8, 1777. 

Resolved, That the treaty made by the commissioners in France on 
the 13th day of February last be confirmed as far as it respects the 
Chevalier du Portail, Mons. de la Radiere, and Mons. de Gouvion; the 
first to be a colonel, the second a lieutenant-colonel, and the third 
major of engineers. 

July 22, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Chevalier du Portail, colonel of engineers, take 
rank and command of all engineers heretofore appointed. 


488 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 1777, 

Resolved,^ . . . That General Washington be empowered to 

appoint Mr. Robert Erskine, or any other person that he may think 
proper, geographer and surveyor of the roads, to take sketches of the 
country, the seat of war, and to haye the procuring, goyerning, and 
pa 3 dng the guides employed under him; the General to fix the pay of 
the said geographer, etc., and the allowance that shall be made to the 
guides. 

September 17, 1777. —Mr. Charles Tronson du Coudray, having been drowned in 
attempting to cross the Schuylkill, Congress ordered his interment at the expense of 
the United States. On August 11a committee of four—Messrs. Wilson, Duane, Hey¬ 
ward, and S. Adams—had been appointed to define the powers to be granted him, but 
his death stopped further action, and there is no record that the committee ever 
made a report. 

October 2, 1777. —The treaty made by Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane at Paris, 
February 17, 1777, was ratified so far as relating to Mons. de Laumoy. 

Novemher 17, 1777. 

Resolved.^ That the Chevalier du Portail be appointed to the rank of 
brigadier-general, Mons. de Laumo}" and Mons. de la Radiere to that 
of colonel, and Mons. Gouvion to that of lieutenant-colonel in the Army^ 
of the United States, the said gentlemen to be employed, as heretofore, 
in the capacity of engineers. 

November 26, 1777. 

Resolved, That Monsieur Fleury, in consideration of the disinter¬ 
ested gallantly which he has manifested in the service of the United 
States, be promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Army. 

Jamcary 1, 1778. 

Resolved, That the Chevalier De Villefranche be appointed major in 
the Corps of Engineers, under the command of the Brigadier Du Portail. 

Fehruary 11, 1778. 

^ Resolved, . . . The ... in the grand army, with the Chief 

Engineer, . . . shall be a subordinate board of ordnance, under 

the direction of the Commander in Chief or the board of war and ord¬ 
nance, for transacting all business of the Ordnance Department neces¬ 
sary to be done in the field, and to have the care of all ordnance and 
stores at camp. . . . 

* * * 

Resolved, That Captain Ferdinand De Brahm, who has heretofore 
acted as an engineer in the State of South Carolina, be appointed an 
engineer in the Continental establishment, with the rank of major in 
the armies of the United States. 

April 16, 1778. 

Resolved, That a commission of captain be granted to Mr. Capitaine 
in the Corps of Engineers in the service of the United States of Amer¬ 
ica, and that he rank from the 1st of December, 1776. 


THE COKPS OF ENOmEERS. 


489 


Jfai/ ^7, 1778, 

Resolved,, That in the Engineerino- Department three companies he 
established, each to consist of— 

1 captain. 5 q doHjirs jmv ])er month. 

6 lieutenants, each. do. do. 

4 sergeants, each. ]0' do do' 

4 corporals, each. 9 do do! 

60 privates, each. SJ do. do. 

ihese companies to be instructed in the falirication of lieldworks 
as far as relates to the manual and mechanical part. Their business 
shall be to instruct the fatigue parties to do their duty Avith celerity 
and exactness, to repair injuries done to the works by the enemy’s 
lire, and to prd.secute Avorks in the face of it; the commis.sioned offi¬ 
cers to be skilled in the necessary branches of mathematics, the non¬ 
commissioned officers to AAU-ite a erood hand. 

June 9, 1778. —“Three captains and nine lieutenants are A\'anted to officer the com¬ 
pany of sappers. As the corps Avill be a school of engineering, it opens a prospect to 
such gentlemen as enter it, and Avill pursue the necessary studies Avith diligence, of 
becoming engineers and rising to the important employments attached to that pro¬ 
fession, such as the direction of fortified places, etc. The qualifications required of 
the candidates are that tliey be natives, and liave a knoAvledge of the mathematics 
and dniwing, or, at least, be disjiosed to apply themselves to those studie. 3 . They 
Avill give in their names at headquarters.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Valky 
Forge.) 

June IS, 1778, 

Resolved, Thtit Moils, du Cambray bo annexed to the Corps of 
Engineers, commanded liy Erigadier T)u Eortail, Avitli the rank and 
pay of a lieutenant-coloind. 


Sejdeinher 18, 1778, 

Resolved, That ]Mons. Bechet de Roche Fontaine be appointed a 
captain in the Corps of Engineers, and that his commission be dated 
the 15th day of May last. 


January 1, 1779,^ 

Resolved, That Brigadier Du Portail and Messrs, de La Radiere, de 
Laumoy, and de GouAuon be retained in the service of the United States 
as engineers for another campaign, if agreeable to their inclination 
and permission can be obtained from His Most Christian Majesty or 
his minister plenipotentiary. 

Resolved, That the Board of Mhir be directed to confer with Mons. 
Gerard on the subject, and in case Brigadier Du Portail and the other 
engineers shall conclude to remain in the seiwice of the United States 
that the board report to Congress a proper arrangement and appoint¬ 
ment for the Corps of Engineers. 


^ General Washington had expressed his opinion of the merit and abilities of Brig¬ 
adier-General Du Portail, as being well acquainted Avith the branch he professes, and 
a gentleman of real knoAvledge in military science in general; had also a very faA^or- 
able opinion of IVIessrs. de La Radiere, de Laumoy, and de Gouvion, Avho had served 
Avith reputation as engineers in the Army of the United States; and had represented 
that, in his judgment, they Avould be necessary and useful in future operations. The 
Board of War Avas directed to confer with the French minister and, in case these 
officers concluded to remain in the service, to report to Congress a proper arrange¬ 
ment and appointment for the Corps of Engineers. 








490 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Jcmwmj 13^ 1779, 

Resolved,^ That jNIons. John Barnard de Murnand be appointed a 
major in the Corps of Engineers, to take rank as such from the 1st day 
of March last and to receive pay and subsistence from the liT day of 
February last, the latter being the time he was employed b}" Brigadier 
Du Portail and the former the time he was directed by the Commander 
in Chief to act as major. 

March P, 1779 .—“Captain Jeremiah Brewen is to superintend the artificers during 
the absence of Col. Baldwin.” {Or(h;rii, Gaieral Jleadqwirterfi, Middle-Brook.) 


March 11, 1779. 

Resolved,, That the engineers in the service of the United States shall 
be formed into a corps and styled the ‘"Corps of Engineers,” and shall 
take rank and enjoy the same rights, honors, and pri^ ileges with the 
other troops on the Continental establishment. 

That a commandant of the Corps of Engineers shall be appointed by 
Congress, to whom their orders, or those of the Commander in Chief, 
shall be addressed, and such commandant shall render to the Com¬ 
mander in Chief and to the Board of War an account of every matter 
relative to his department. 

That the engineers shall have rank in their own corps according to 
the date of their respective commissions. 

That every year previous to the opening of the campaign the com¬ 
mandant of the corps shall propose to the Commander in Chief and to 
the Board of War such a disposition of the engineers as he shall judge 
most advantageous, according to the knowledge which he is supposed 
to have of their talents and capacity. 

Resolved,, That the Board of War be empowered and directed to form 
such regulations for the Corps of Engineers and companies of sappers 
and miners as they judge most conducive to the public service, and 
that the Board report such allowances as they judge adequate and 
reasonable to be made to the officers of the Corps of Engineers for 
travelling charges and Avhen on command at a distance from camp or 
in places where they can not draw rations. 

March. 16,, 1779. 

Resolved,, That all warrant officers on the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

Ajml 3, 1779, 

The Board of War report that the committee appointed at Yorktown 
to confer with Baron Steuben, having promised to report that Mons. 
L’Enfant should have the commission of captain of engineers, and no 
report having been made on that subject, the Board are of the opinion: 

That Mons. L’Enfant be appointed a captain in the Corps of Engi¬ 
neers in the service of the United States, to have rank from the 18th 
day of February, 1778. 

Resolved,, That Congress agree to the said report. 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


491 


May 11, 1779. 

Remlmd, That the pay and subsistence of tlie engineers and of the 
officers and men of the companies of sappers and miners shall be 
the same with those of officers of the like ranks and of the men in the 
artillery of these States. 

That Brigadier-deneral Du Portail be appointed commandant of the 
Corps of Engineers and companies of sappers and miners. 

August 31, 1779 .—“Lieutenant Cleveland is appointed eaptain-lieutenant in the 
corps of sappers and miners, vice - Idttle, resigned.” {Orders, General Head¬ 

quarters, Moore’s house.) 

December 24, 1779 .—“The honorable the Board of War having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen, and directed the distribution of them among the officers 
of the . . . staff, who are not adopted by any State: the clothier-general is to 

deliver tliem upon returns signed by the . i . heads of the following corps and 
departments at the rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 25th of November 
last. . . . Corps of Engineers, including sappers and miners; . . . military 

surveyors.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 


January IS, 1780. 

Whereas Brigadier-deneral Du Portail and Colonel Laumoy and 
Lieutenant-Colonel de Gouvion have continued in the service of the 
United States, pursuant to a resolution of Congress of the 1st of Jan¬ 
uary, 1TT9, and under a permission from the minister plenipotentiary 
of His Most Christian ^lajestv, and have obtained from the Commander 
in Chief ample testimonials of honorable and useful services rendered 
during the last campaign: 

Resolved, That Brigadier-General Du Portail and Messieurs Laumoy 
and Gouvion be retained in the service of the United States (if per¬ 
mission can be obtained for that purpose from His Most Christian Maj¬ 
esty or his minister plenipotentiary) so long, during the present war, 
as shall be consistent with their inclinations and duty as officers to 
their King. 


Fehruury 7, 1780. 

Resolved, That the officers attached to the companies of sappers and 
miners be commissioned, and i‘ank as follows: 

i\Ir. Kevin, captain, April 25th, 1779; Mr. Bebee, Mr. Murray, Mr. 
Du Veil, captains; Mr. Gilliland, Mr. Bushnell, Mr. Cleveland, cap¬ 
tain-lieutenants, August 2, 1779; Mr. Welsh, lieutenant. 


SSfareJi J, 1780. 


Resolved, That Mr. Kevin be appointed a captain of engineers, to 
rank from the 25th of April, 1779. 

March 29,1780 .—General Du Portail was ordered to the southern department, and 
put himself under General Lincoln or the commanding officer of that departinent. 

July 13, 1780 .—General Du Portail being a prisoner of war on parole and his serv¬ 
ices being deemed essential for the success of the operations of the ensuing campaign. 
Congress requested General Washington to endeavor to obtain his exchange. 



492 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF G’",NERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


July 16^ 1780. 

Resolved^ That . . . there be issued ... as many rations 

as the service shall require. 

. . . captain of engineers, one; . . . 

July 22, 1780 .—“As in the course of the campaign a good corps of sappers and 
miners will be extremely useful and absolutely necessary, the General directs tluU 
one man be drawn from each regiment for this purpose; an able-bodied mm, intelli¬ 
gent, sober, and engaged for the war.” {Order.^, General Headquarters, Praconess .) 

August 2, 1780.—'"Li. Welch, of the corps of sappers and miners, is appointed 
quartermaster to the same.” 

‘ ‘ The men in the corps of sappers and miners are to be furnished with good French 
arms and accoutrements from the regiments, respectively, from which they were 
drafted.” 

{Orders, General Headquarters, Peekskill.) 

August 3, 1780. —“Lt. Col. Gouvion will take the command of the corps of sappers 
and miners.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Peekskdl.) 


Novemhtv 8^ 1780. 

Resolved.^ That Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin continue to receive the 
pay of colonel of engineers, as heretofore. 

JJoveiuher IJ}.., 1780. 

Resolved., . . . That the Commander in Chief be directed to lay 

before Congress a return of the officers of the Engineering Department, 
including those of the companies of sappers and miners, and distin¬ 
guish such as, in his judgment, it will be necessary to retain in service, 
in order that the officers of that department who shall be retained in 
service may be put on an equal establishment with the officers of the 
line, and that provision may be made for such as shall be reduced. 

December 1780. 

Resolved., That Mr. Simeon De Witt be appointed geographer to the 
Army, in the room of Robert Erskine, deceased. 

February 26^ 1781. 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the State of Massachusetts to 
make up to Richard Gridley the depreciation of his pay as engineer 
at 60 dollars per month from the time of his appointment to the 1st 
day of January, 1781, in like manner with other officers in the Conti¬ 
nental service, and charge the same to the United States. 

That from and after the said first day of January, 1781, Colonel 
Gridley be considered as a retiring officer. . . . 

April 21, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to remove from office or employment, for incapacity, neg¬ 
ligence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior, such persons not immediately 
appointed b}^ the United.States in Congress assembled as are or may 
be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the expend¬ 
iture of the public supplies, stores, and other property; . . . and 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


493 


such of the said persons as are or may be in his judgment unnecessaiy, 
reporting to such authority, board, minister, or office to whom it may 
belong to supply the vacancy the respective names of the persons so 
removed. 

That he be authorized to suspend from office or employment for 
similar causes persons officially employed and entrusted as aforesaid 
immediately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason of suspension: 

Provided that in all cases where any of the persons aforesaid are or 
may be amenable to the law martial the superintendent be, and he is 
hereby, authorized and directed, if he shall deem it most expedient for 
the public service, to put them in arrest by order in wu’iting, and to 
apply to the officer whose duty it may be to order a court-martial; 
and such officer is hereby directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingly; 

That in every case of suspension all pay and emolument cease from 
the date thereof, unless the persons suspended be, upon trial, acquitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place, when it may be necessary, by a temporary appointment, to con¬ 
tinue until the person suspended be restored or dismissed; 

That the aforesaid powers shall not be construed to interfere with 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Army, or those who maybe duly entrusted with money for secret serv¬ 
ice by Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or command¬ 
ing officer of a separate department; 

That the powers aforesaid be exercised during the pleasure of Con¬ 
gress, but not to extend beyond the duration of the war. 

May 1781. 

Resolved., That Thomas Hutchins be appointed geographer to the 
southern arnn^, with the same pay and emoluments as are allowed to 
the geographer to the main Army. 

June 19, 1781. —“Capt.-Lieut. Gilliland, of the corps of sappers and miners, is pro¬ 
moted to the rank of Capt. in the same, vice Murray, resigned the 1st June, 1781, 
and Capt.-Lieut. Bushnell, of the same corps, is promoted to the rank of captain, 
vice Beelx?, resigned 8th June, 1781.” “Jonathan Lawrence, esq., lieutenant in late 
IMalcolm’s regiment, is appointed to the rank of captain in the corps of sappers and 
miners, his commission to bear date from the 12th June, 1781.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, New Windsor.) 

Julq te, “Peter Taulman, esq., lieutenant in late Col. Spencer’s regt., is 

ai)pomted captain-lieutenant in the corps of sappers and miners.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Tarrytown .) 

Jidy 11, 1781. 

Resolved, That the geographer to the main Army, and also the 
geographer to the southern army, be stiled '^geographer of the United 
States of America,” and commissioned and considered as such; and 
that they perform such services as the Commander in Chief and com¬ 
manding officer of the southern army may judge necessary to assign 
them, respectively. 

July 25, 77<?7.—“Lieut. Kirkpatrick, late Colonel Spencer’s regt., is appointed 
captain-lieutenant in the corps of sappers and miners.” {Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, near Dobb’s Ferry .) / , , , i 

November 11, 77<?7.—Captain Jacob Schreiber, engineers (who had served in the 
capacity from March 2, 1780). was iiermitted to return to Europe as Congress, though 
conscious of his merit, had no means of employing him in the rank he requires. 


494 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GENERAL STAFE OE U. S. ARMY. 


Noveviber 16^ 1781. 

Resolved, That Brigadier-General du Portaild commanding officer of 
the Corps of Engineers, in consideration of his meritorious services, 
and particularly of his distinguished conduct in the siege of York, in 
the State of Virginia, be, and he is hereby, promoted to the rank of 
major-general. 

Resdved, That Lieutenant-Colonel Gouvion,^ of the Corps of P]ngi- 
neers, receive the brevet of colonel. 

Rewlved, That Captain Rochefontaine, of the Corps of Engineers, 
eceive the brevet of major. 


2farch 8, 1782. 

Resolved, That Captain James Elliott be, and he is hereby, appointed 
an assistant geographer to the United States, and that his pa}^ be two 
dollars and one ration per day, and that this allowance be considered 
in full for all claims that the said Captain James Elliott may have on 
the United States for half pay or any other emolument after the war, 
agreeably to his proposal. 


April 2S, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the supernumerary junior lieutenants, 

beyond the number of ten in each regiment of infantry, be reduced; 
. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the staff 

departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective 
ranks in the Army, and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence belong¬ 
ing to their rank in the line as a compensation for their respective services 
in the staff, without any other allowance whatsoever. 

A'pril 26, 1782 .—Colonel Jednthan Baldwin was considered as a supernumerary 
officer retiring from the service. 


October 22, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the following be the proportion of wagons 

and bathorses to the different ranks of officers: . . . 

Major-general and family, one covered four-horse wagon and one 
two-horse wagon. 

Brigadier-general and family, one covered four-horse wagon. 
Colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, one covered four-horse wagon. 


* * * 

That there shall be allowed for saddle horses: 

To a major-general and family. 7 rations 

Brigadier-general and family. 5 do 

Colonel. do 

Lieutenant-colonel. 2 do 

Major. 2 do 

Captain of engineers. 1 do 

* -X- * 


Oiioher 30, 1782 .—Lieutenant-Colonel du Cambray was granted leave for twelve 
months to visit his family in France. 


^ General du Portail and Col. Gouvion were granted leave of absence from the United 
States for six months. 









THE COIU’S OF ENGINEEKS. 


495 


November 1%^ 1782. 

Resolved^ That the geogTav)her to tlio main army and the geographer 
to the southern department be each of them allowed dO dollars per 
month, three rations per day, forage for two saddle horses, one two- 
horse coyered wagon, 6fd dollars per month for a servant, for whom 
the}^ shall be entitled to draw one ration per day and the clothing 
allowed to a })ri\ ate soldier. 

That the assistant geographer, if such officers shall be judged neces¬ 
sary b}' the Commander in Chief, be allowed 30 dollars per month, one 
ration per day, and forage for one saddle horse. 

Februarjl 26,1783 .—“Captain Bnshnell, beinj? the senior officer, will have the com¬ 
mand of the corps of sai)j)erH and miners until further orders, and Captain Delezeume, 
of the Corps of Engineers, will report to headquarters immediately by what authority 
he came to the jjarrison of West Point and assumed the command of the sappers and 
miners.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh). 

May 2, 178S. 

Resolred^ That Lieutenant-Colonel Camliray, of the Corjis of Engi¬ 
neers, be promoted to the rank of colonel liy breyet. 

That Major Villefranche, of the said corps, be promoted to the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel by brevet, and that Captain L’Enfant, of the said 
corps, be promoted to the rank of tnajor by brevet. 

Octohe)' 10, 1783.^ 

Resolved, That Major-General duPortail, Brigadier-General Laumoy, 
and Colonel Gouvion,who have served with distinguished merit in the 
Department of Engineers, have leave to retire from the service of the 
United States. 

October 31, 1783 .—The Secretary at War reported that the Cori)s of Engineers, 
sappers and miners had accepted the commutation of five years’ pay in lieu of half 
pay for life. 

Fehruary 6, 178Jf. 

Resolved, That a brevet commission of lieutenant-colonel be issued 
to ]\lajor de Brahm, of the late Corps of Engineers, and that he be 
informed that his further services are dispensed with. 

January 25, 1785 .—Congress referred to a committee a letter from ^Major L’Enfant 
enclosing a memorial on the necessity of establishing a Corps of Engineers, and a dis¬ 
sertation on the qualitications of an engineer. 

Juve 10, 1785. 

Resolved, That in settling the accounts of Mr. Thomas Hutchins, 
geographer to the United States, he be allowed four dollars and four 
rations a day from the time of his accepting his commission to the 3rd 
da}^ of November, 1783, and that he be allowed four dollars a day from 
that period to the 29th day of Mat^ 1785, deducting therefrom the 
time he was emploved and paid by the State of Pennsylvania. 

June 30, 1786 .—Congress authorized the settlement of Captain Elliott’s accounts 
to October 20, 1783, and no longer, thus indicating the length of his service as assist¬ 
ant geographer. 


^ The Secretary at War was directed to express to the French minister the high 
.sense Congress entertain of the zeal, ability, and conduct of these officers, and, Octo¬ 
ber 16, the agent of marine was directed to j^rovide them with a passage to France in 
the ship Washington. 




496 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

February 23, 1795 This act established, in the Treasury Departmpt, the 

office of purveyor of public supplies. His duties were to conduct the procuring and 
providing cf all military stores, etc. His compensation was fixed at $2,000 per 
annum, and letters to and from him were to be conveyed free of postage. The office 
was abolished after May 31, 1812, by the act of March 28, 1812 (2-696). 

Act of March 3, 1799 {1 Stats., 7Jl9). 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. it. That the President of the United States be authorized to 
engage and appoint, distinct from the officers of the corps of artiller¬ 
ists and engineers, two engineers, with the. rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
and to stipulate and allow to them, respectively, such compensations as 
he shall find necessary and expedient. 

Sec. 18. That an inspector of fortifications shall be appointed, whose 
duties shall be assigned by the Secretary of War, under the direction 
of the President of the United States; that the compensation to be 
allowed to the said inspector, if selected from the corps of artillerists 
and engineers, in full for his extra services and travelling expenses, 
shall, besides his pay and emoluments in the corps,, be thirty-five dol¬ 
lars per month; and if he shall not be an officer in the artillery or 
Army, he shall, in full compensation for his services and expenses, be 
allowed the sum of seventy-five dollars monthly, and be entitled to 
the rank of major in the Army of the United States; and in case the 
said inspector shall be chosen from the corps of artillerists and engi¬ 
neers, or Army of the United States, his place therein shall be supplied 
by promotion, or a new appointment, or both, as may be requisite; 
but he shall nevertheless retain his station in the said corps or Army, 
and shall rank and rise therein in the same manner as if he had never 
been appointed in the said office of inspector. 

* * * 


Act of March 16, 1803 {3 Statx,, 133). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * -X- 

•Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . be as follows, 

to wit: ... to each major, fifty dollars; . . . ; to each cap¬ 

tain, forty dollars; to each first lieutenant, thirty dollars; to each 
second lieutenant, twenty-five dollars; . 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled to 
receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations of 
provisions: ... A major, four rations; a captain, three rations; 
a lieutenant, two rations; ... or money in lieu thereof at the 
option of the said officers . . . at the posts, respectively, when the 

rations shall become due; and if at such posts supplies are not furnished 
by contract, then such allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having 
reference to former contracts and the position of the place in ques¬ 
tion; . . . and to every commissioned officer who shall keep one 

servant, not a soldier of the line, one additional ration. 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


497 


Sec. 26. That the President of the United States is hereby author¬ 
ized and empowered, when he shall deem it expedient, to org-anize and 
establish a corps of engineers, to consist of one engineer, with the pay, 
rank, and emoluments of a major; two assistant engineers, with tte 
pay, rank, and emoluments of captains; two other assistant engineers, 
with the pay, rank, and emoluments of second lieutenants; and ten 
cadets, with the pay of sixteen dollars per month and two rations per 
day; and the President of the United States is in like manner author¬ 
ized, when he shall deem it proper, to make such promotions in the 
said corps, with a view to particular merit, and without regard to rank, 
so as not to exceed one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, four 
captains, four first lieutenants, and four second lieutenants, and so that 
the number of the whole corps shall at no time exceed twenty officers 
and cadets. 

Sec. 27. That the said corps when so organized shall be stationed 
at Westpoint, in the State of New York, and shall constitute a mili¬ 
tary academy; and the engineers, assistant engineers, and cadets of the 
said corps shall be subject, at all times, to do duty in such places and 
on such service as the President of the United States shall direct. 

Sec. 28. That the principal engineer, and in his absence the next in 
rank, shall have the superintendence of the said military academ}^, 
under the direction of the President of the United States; and the' 
Secretary of War is hereby authorized, at the public expense, under 
such regulations as shall be directed by the President of the United 
States, to procure the necessary books, implements, and apparatus for 
the use and benetit of the said institution. 

-x- * * 

Act of February 28^ 1803 {2 Stats., 206). 

AN ACT in addition to an act entitled “An act fixing the military establishment of 

the United States.” 

■X- * 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint one teacher of the French language and one 
teacher of drawing, to be attached to the Corps of Engineers, whose 
compensation shall not exceed the pay and emoluments of a captain in 
the line of the Army. 

Sr:c. 3. That the commanding officer of the Corps of Engineers be 
authorized to enlist, for a term not less than three years, one artificer 
and eighteen men to aid in making practical experiments, and for other 
purposes; to receive the same pay, rations, and clothing as are allowed 
to the artificers and privates in the Army of the United States, and 
the same bounty when enlisted for five years, and to be subject to the 
Rules and Articles of War. 

* * * 

Act of April 10, 1806 {2 Stats., 359). 

AN ACT establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the 

•United States. 

-» * * 

Article 63. The functions of the engineers being generally confined 
to the most elevated branch of military service, they are not to assume 

S. Doc. 229-32 


498 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


nor are they subject to be ordered on an}" duty beyond the line of then 
immediate profession, except by the special order of the President of 
the United States; but they are to receive every mark of respect to 
which their rank in the Army may entitle them, respectively, and are 
liable to be transferred, at the discretion of the President, from one 
corps to another, regard being paid to rank. 

* -A- * 

Act of April W, ISm Stats., 7W). 

AN ACT making further provision for the Corps of Engineers. 

That there be added to the Corps of Engineers two captains, two 
first lieutenants, tAvo second lieutenants, with the usual pay and emolu¬ 
ments according to their grade, respectiA^ely, and one paymaster, to be 
taken from the subalterns of engineers, with the pay and emoluments 
of a regimental paymaster; and that there be attached to the said 
corps, either from the troops noAV in service or by neAV enlistments, as 
the President of the United States may direct, four sergeants, four 
corporals, one teacher of music, four musicians, nineteen artificers, and 
sixty-two men, Avhich noncommissioned officers, musicians, artificers, 
and men, together Avith the artificers and men already belonging to the 
Corps of Engineers, shall be formed into a company, to be styled a 
company of bombardiers, sappers, and miners, and be officered from 
the Corps of Engineers, according as the commanding officer of that 
corps may, Avith the approbation of the President of the United States, 
direct; and the said noncommissioned officers, musicians, artificers, and 
men, shall be alloAved the same pay and emoluments as are alloAved to 
the noncommissioned officers, musicians, artificers, and men in the 
regiment of artillerists. 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That the Military Academy shall 
consist of the Corps of Engineers and the following professors, in 
addition to the teachers of the French language and draAving already 
provided, viz: One professor of natural and experimental philosophy, 
with the pay and emoluments of lieutenant-colonel if not an officer of 
the corps, and if taken from the corps, then so much in addition to his 
pay and emoluments as shall equal those of a lieutenant-colonel; one 
professor of mathematics, Avith the pay and emoluments of a major if 
not an officer of the corps, and if taken from the corps, then so much 
in addition to his pay and emoluments as shall equal those of a major; 
one professor of the art of engineering in all its branches, Avith the pay 
and emoluments of a major if not an officer of the corps, and if taken 
from the corps, then so much in addition to his pay and emoluments 
as shall equal those of a major; each of the foregoing professors to 
have an assistant professor, which assistant professor shall be taken 
from the most prominent characters of the ofiScers or cadets, and 
recewe the pay and emoluments of captains, and no other pay or 
emoluments, Avhile performing these duties: Provided, That nothing 
herein contained shall entitle the academical staff, as such, to any com¬ 
mand in the Army separate from the Academy. 

* * " * 

Sec. , 6 . That so much of the twenty-sixth section of the act entitled 
“An act fixing the military peace establishment,” passed the 16th day 
of March, 1802, as confines the selection of the commander of the 
Corps of Engineers to the said corps be, and the same is hereby, 
repealed. 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


499 


Act of March 3, ISIS' {2 Stats., 810). 

AN ACT for the better organization of tlie general staff of tbe Army of the United 

States. 

That [there shall be] eig'lit topographical engineers, eight assistant 
topographical engineers, 

* * -5C- 

Sec. 3. that . . . the . . . topographical engineers shall 
ha\ e the brevet rank and the pay and eiiioluinents of a major of cavalry; 
and the assistant topographical engineers . . . shall have tlie 

brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a captain of infantry. 

Sec. 4. that the . . . assistant topographical engineers shall be 
taken from the line. The . . . topographical engineers 

may be taken from the line, or not, as the President may deem expe¬ 
dient. ... , J 1 


Act of March 3, 1813 (3 A^tats.^ 234). 

AN ACT fixing the military ])(we establishment of the United States. 


. . . the Corps ot Engineers, as at present established, be 

retained. 

-x- * 


Act (f April 24^ 1816 {3 Stats., 297). 

ACT for organizing the general staff, and making further provisions for the Army 
of the United States. 

That, in addition to the act providing for a military peace estaldish- 
nient, the provisions of the act of March the third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, for the better organization of the general stad, be, 
and the same are herebv, so far established that the general stafl' shall 
in future consist of . . . three topographical engineers. . . . 

* -X- x- 


Resolution (fA'pril 29, 1816'^ {3 Stats., 342). 

RESOLUTION authorizing the President of the United States to employ a skilful 
assistant in the Corps of Engineers. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to employ, in addition to the Corps of Engineers as now established, 
a skilful assistant,^ whose compensation shall be such as the President 
of the United States shall think proper, not exceeding the allowance 
to the chief officer of that corps. 

^ The superintendent general of military supplies authorized to be appointed under 
this act was not a staff officer, but a civilian with a salary of $3,000 per annum. His 
duties were to keep proper accounts of all military stores and supplies of every 
description purchased for the Army, the volunteers, and the militia, and to pre¬ 
scribe forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and supplies, etc. 

^Repealed by resolution No. 8, July 14, 1832. (4-607.) 

^General Simon Bernard was born at Dole, France, April 28, 1779, and after 
graduating from the Polytechnic School entered the army. He was appointed aid- 
de-camp to the Emperor in 1813; was successively made general of brigade and gen- 




500 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Resolution of April W, 1818 {3 Stats., 176). 

RESOLUTION directing the completion of the survey of the waters of the Chesa¬ 
peake Bay, and for other purposes. 

That ... to the naval officers employed in this service officers 
of the Corps of Eng'ineers bo joined, with instructions to prepare 
plans of the fortifications necessary to be erected for the defense of 
such arsenals [naval] with an estimate of the expense of erecting the 

same. . . . 


Act of Afarch mi {3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to redmre and lix the military peace establishment of the LTnited States. 

-X- -55- * 

Sec. 3. That the Corps of Engineers (bombardiers excepted) and 
the topographical engineers and their assistants shall be retained in 
service as at present organized. 

* * * 


Act of ALarch 3, m3 {3 Stats., 788). 

AN ACT to estaldish a national armory on the western waters. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to employ a skillful engineer, . . . with such other person or 

persons as he may judge proper, to examine the most suitalde site for 
a national armory on the western waters; and that the said engineer 
and such other person or persons be requested to report the result of 
their examination to Congress at the commencement of its next ses¬ 
sion, particularly designating the sites by them examined, with the 
comparative advantages of each, and an estimate showing the amount 
necessary for purchasing each, and erecting all necessary buildings 
thereon. 

* -X- * 


Act of Apml 30, 182J{, {I Stats., 2^). 

AN ACT to procure the necesyary surveys, plans, and estimates upon the subject of 

roads and canals. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That to carry into effect the objects of this act, the Presi¬ 
dent be, and he is hereb}", authorized to employ two or more skillful 

eral of division, ending his military career at Waterloo in 1815. Refusing the 
brilliant offers of several sovereigns of Europe, he obtained permission from I.,ouis 
XVIII to come to the United States, and November 16, 1816, was commissioned 
“Assistant in the Corps of Engineers of the United States” with the rank of briga¬ 
dier-general by brevet, and the coinx^ensation that “is or may be allowed to the chief 
of that corps.” He devised a system of canals and roads for connecting the Great 
Lakes and navigable rivers and a scheme for the defense of the coast, constructing 
Fortress Monroe, some of the defenses of New York, and other works. Resigning 
August 10, 1831, he returned to France and was intrusted by Louis Philippe with 
the preparation of plans for the fortifications of Paris. He was strongly in favor of 
a system of detached forts, which was afterwards carried out. In 1834 he was for a 
short time minister of war and, ad interim, minister of foreign affairs. In 1836 he 
Avas made minister of war for a second time and held that office for three years. He 
died in Paris November 5, 1839. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


501 


civil engineers, and such officers of the Corps of Engineers, or who 
may be -detailed to do duty with that corps, as he may think 
proper. ... 

May 18, 1826 {4-173).—1\\ case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or 
of damage to such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, 
to be charged against the responsible officer unless he can show that the deficiency 
or damage was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 


Act of July S, 1832, StaU., 651). 

AN ACT making appropriations for certain internal improvements for the year one 
thousand eight hundred and thirty-two. 

* * 

^ Sec. 2. That so much of the second section of the act for the con¬ 
tinuation of the Cumberland road, approved March third, one 
thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, as authorizes the President, 
with the advice of the Senate, to appoint a superintendent thereof, be, 
and the same is hereb}^, repealed, and that the work in the State of 
Ohio be continued by the War Department under the superintendence 
of an officer of engineers. 

Act of Maxell 2, 1833 {If Stats., 650). 

AN ACT for the construction of a road from the Mississippi River to William 
Strong’s, on the St. Francis River, in the Territory of Arkansas. 

* * * 

: Provided, That the said sum [^100,000] be expended under 
the direction of such military engineer as the President may appoint: 
And provided also. That no part of the said sum of nione}^ shall be 
expended until a careful survey and estimate shall have been made of 
the cost of the road by a competent engineer, and that the said survey 
and estimate shall have been previously submitted to and approved by 
the SecretaiT of War and the President of the United States. 

Act of June 2Jf., 183 1^. {1^. Stats., 680). 

AN ACT for the continuation and repair of the Cumberland road. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That an officer of the Corps of Engineers, to be selected by 
the Department of War, shall be charged with the disbursements of 
the moneys appropriated for the construction of the Cumberland road 
through the States of Indiana and Illinois; and that said officer shall 
have, under the direction of the Pmgineer Department, a general con¬ 
trol over the operations of the said road and overall persons employed 
thereon: Provided, That no percentage shall be allowed to such officer 
for disbursing moneys appropriated for the construction of said road. 

* * -X- 

Act of June 30, mif. 4 Stats., 723). 

AN ACT authorizing a road to be cut from the northern boundary of the Territory 
of Florida, by Marianna, to the town of Apalachicola, within the said Territory. 

. . . Provided, That the said road shall be cut out by contract, 

and that no money shall be paid at any time on account thereof but on 


502 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 


the certificate of an engineer of the Army of the United States that 
the said road has been faithfully constructed according to the terms of 
such contract. 

* * * 


Act of July 1836 {6 Stats., 80). 

AN ACT to change the organization of the Post-Office Department and to provide 
more effectually for the settlement of the accounts thereof. 

* * * 

Sec. 8 . . . . And all letters and packets to and from the Chief 

Engineer which may relate to the business of his oflice shall be free of 
postage. 

Act Of July 6, 1838 {5 Stats., 266). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 


* * * 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to add to the Corps of Engineers, whenever he may deem 
it expedient to increase the same, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, 
six captains, six first and six second lieutenants; and that the pay and 
emoluments of the said corps shall be the same as those allowed to the 
officers of the regiment of dragoons. 

Sec. 3. That so much of the act passed the twenty-ninth day of 
April, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, entitled “An act mak¬ 
ing further provision for the Corps of Engineers,” as provides that 
one paymaster shall be taken from the subalterns of the Corps of 
Engineers, be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and that the pay¬ 
master so authorized and provided be attached to the Pay Department, 
and be in every respect placed on the footing of other paymasters of 
the Arm}". 

Sec. 4. That the Corps of Topographical Engineers shall be organ¬ 
ized and increased by regular promotions in the same, so that the said 
corps shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, four majors, 
ten captains, ten first lieutenants, and ten second lieutenants. 

Sec. 5. That vacancies created by said organization, over and above 
those which can be filled by the present corps, shall be taken from the 
Army, and from such as it may be deemed advisable of the civil engi¬ 
neers employed under the act of the thirtieth of April, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and twenty-four; that the pay and emoluments of the officers of 
said corps shall be the same as are allowed to officers of similar rank 
in the regiments of dragoons. 

Sec. 6 . That the authority to employ civil engineers, in the act of 
the thirtieth of April, eighteen hundred and twenty-four, be, and the 
same is hereby, repealed after the passage of this act. 

* * * 

Sec. 21. That all letters and packages on public business to and 
from the . . . head of the topographical corps shall be free from 

postage. 


THE COKPS OF ENGINEERS. 


503 


Sec. 27. That it shall be the duty of the engineer superintending the 
construction of a fortitication, or engaged about the execution of any 
other public work, to disburse the moneys applicable to the same; 
and, as a compensation therefor, may be allowed by the Secretary 
of War at the rate of two dollars per diem during the continuance of 
such disbursements: Provided^ That the whole amount of emoluments 
shall not exceed one per cent on the sum disbursed. 

* * * 

Act of July 7, 18S8 {5 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled “An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purposes,” approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereb}^ is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

* * * 

Sixth. That no compensation shall be allowed to officers of the 
Engineer Department for disbursement of public money while supeiin¬ 
tending public works. 

* * * 


Act of March 3, 18Ji3 {5 Stats., 630). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the Gov¬ 
ernment for the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, eighteen hundred and 
forty-four. 

* * * 

For survey of the coast of the United States . . .: Provided, 

That this, and all other appropriations hereafter to be made for this 
work shall, until otherwise provided by law, be expended in accordance 
with a plan of reorganizing the mode of executing the surve}^, to be 
submitted to the President of the United States b}" a board of officers 
which shall be organized by him, to consist of . . . four from 

among the principal officers of the Corps of Topographical Engineers; 
none of whom shall receive any additional compensation whatever for 
this service; and who shall sit as soon as organized . . . and the 

plan of said board shall cause to be employed as many officers of the 
Army ... of the United States as will be compatible with the 
successful prosecution of the work; . . . the officers of the Army 

on the topographical parts of the work; and no officer of the 
Army . . . shall hereafter receive any extra pay out of this or 

any future appropriations for surveys. 

* * * 

Act of May 15, 18If {9 Stats., 12). 

AN ACT for the organization of a company of sappers, miners, and pontoniers. 

That there be added to the Corps of Engineers one company of sap¬ 
pers, miners, and pontoniers, to be called engineer soldiers; which 
company shall be composed of ten sergeants or master workmen, ten 
corporals or overseers, two musicians, thirty-nine privates of the 
first class, or artificers, and thirty-nine privates of the second class, or 
laborers; in all one hundred men. 


504 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 2. That the pay and rations of the sergeants, or master work¬ 
men, of said company shall be the same as those now allowed by law 
to the master workmen emploA^ed by the Ordnance Department, except¬ 
ing that the engineer sergeants shall receive one ration only per day 
instead of one ration and a half; of the corporals, or overseers, the same 
as those now allowed by law to the armorers, carriage makers, and 
blacksmiths employed b}^ the Ordnance Department, excepting that 
the engineer corporals shall receive one ration only per da}^ instead of one 
ration and a half; of the privates of the first class, or artificers, the 
same as those now allowed by law to the artificers employed by the 
Ordnance Department; of the privates of the second class, or laborers, 
the same as now allowed b}" law to the laborers employed b}^ the Ord¬ 
nance Department; and of the musicians, the same as those allowed by 
law to the musicians of the line of the Army; the said noncommissioned 
officers, privates, and musicians being respectively entitled to the same 
clothing and other allowances as are granted b}" law to noncommis¬ 
sioned officers, privates, and musicians of the artillery in the Army of 
the United States. 

Sec. 3. That the said engineer company shall be subject to the Rules 
and Articles of War, shall be recruited in the same manner and with the 
same limitation, and shall be entitled to the same provisions, allow¬ 
ances, and benefits in every respect as are allowed to the other troops 
constituting the present militar}" peace establishment. 

Sec. 4. That the said engineer company shall be attached to and 
compose a part of the Corps of Engineers and be officered by officers 
of that corps as at present organized; they shall be instructed in and 
perform all the duties of sappers, miners, and pontoniers, and shall 
aid in giving practical instructions in these branches at the Military 
Acadeni}^; they shall, moreover, under the orders of the Chief Engi¬ 
neer, be liable to serve, by detachments, in overseeing and aiding 
laborers upon fortifications or other works under the Engineer Depart¬ 
ment and in supervising finished fortifications as fort keepers, prevent¬ 
ing injuiy, and applying repairs. 

Sec. 5. That the Chief Engineer, with the approbation of the Secre¬ 
tary of War, be authorized to regulate and determine the number, 
quality, form, dimensions, etc., of the necessary vehicles, pontons, 
tools, implements, arms, and other supplies for the use and service of 
said company as a body of sappers, miners, and pontoniers. 

* * * 

March 3, 1847 {9-175). —The works at Cary’s Fort Reef, Florida, near Wango- 
shance, Mich.; Minot’s Rock, Massachusetts; Whale’s Back, New Hampshire; Fair- 
weather Island, near Black Rock, Connecticut; and Brandywine Shoals in the Dela¬ 
ware River, Pennsylvania, to be executed under the superintendence of the Topo¬ 
graphical Bureau. 

July 10,1848 (9-346). —Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted 
men in the several corps of the Army. 

Act of March 5, 1849 {9 Stats., 370). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That any noncommissioned officer, musician, or private, in 
the company of sappers and miners and pontoniers, raised by the act 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


505 


of ]\Iay ninth, oio-hteen hundred and forty-eight, Vv ho served in said 
company in tlie war with iMexico, shall, on application, he entitled to 
receive an honorable discharge from the service of the United States, 
and stand as if the}" had served out their respective terms. 

March 3, 1349 {9-330). —When expenditure is to be made under direetion of Bureau 
of Topographical Engineers, necessary i)reliininary surveys to determine site of pro¬ 
posed light-house or light-boat shall be made by ollicers of the corps })ossessing requi¬ 
site skill and experience, who shall make report of the result of their examinations. 

September 23, 1350 {9-504)> —Moneys received from the sale of military stores and 
other supplies exem])ted from operation of act of March 3, ]cS49, requiring certain 
moneys to be paid into the Treasury without abatement or reduction. 

March 3, 1351 {9-627). —Colonel of Cor])Sof Topographical Engineers charged with 
making preliminary surveys to determine sites of proposed light-houses, light-boats, 
beacons, and bouys on the northwestern lakes; two engineer officers to form part of 
of a board to inquire into condition of the Light-House Establishment; details of engi¬ 
neer officers may be made to superintend construction and renovation of light-houses. 

August 30, 1352 {10-56). —A board of topographical and civil engineers to be 
apjiointed by the Secretary of War to report upon expediency of an additional canal 
around the Falls of the Ohio River and comparative cost, advantages, and disadvan¬ 
tages of enlarging and extending the present canal so as to avoid the rocks at Sandy 
Island. 

August 31, 1352 {10-76). —If the superintendence of constructing the custom-house 
at New Orleans be confided to an officer of the topographical engineers, he shall be 
allowed a compensation not exceeding !*!5 per day. 


Act of Angrcst 31^ 1852 {JO Stah.^ 112). 


AX ACT making appropriations for light-houses, light-boats, buoys, etc., and provid¬ 
ing for the erection and establishment of the same, and for other jiurposes. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 8. That the President l)e, and he is hereby, authorized and 
required to appoint, immediately after the passage of this act, . . 

one otiicer of the Corps of Engineers of the Army, one officer of tlic 
Corps of Topographical Engineers of the Army, . . . and . . . 

an officer of engineers of the Army, as secretaries, who shall consti¬ 
tute the Light-House l^oard of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. [The Eight-House Board to arrange the Atlantic, (iiilf. 
Pacific, and lake coasts into twelve districts]; and the President is 
hereby authorized and reipiired to direct that an officer of the Arm}" 
may be assigned to each district as a light-house inspector, 
subject to and under orders of the Light-House Board, Avho shall receive 
for such service the same pay and emoluments that he Avouldbe entitled 
to by law for the performance of duty in the regular line of his pro¬ 
fession, and no other, except the legal allowance per mile when trav- 
ellintr under orders connected with his duties. 

* -X- -X- 

August 31, 1352 {10-112). —Plan for the erection of a light-house on the outer 
Minot Ledge, Boston Harbor, to be approved by the To])ographi(*al Bureau; a lirst- 
class light-house near Coffins Patches, off Dry Bank, Ela., to be constructed under 
the direction of the Topographical Bureau; two range beacon lights for Gedneys 
Channel, XeAV Jersey, and two on Staten Island, New York Harbor, to be constTucted 
under the direction of the Topographical Bureau; plans, drawings, etc., of all illumi¬ 
nating and other apparatus of construction and repair of towers, buildings, etc., 
connected with the Light-House Pistablishment, to be i)repared by the engineer sec¬ 
retary of the board, or such officer of engineers as may be detailed for that service; 
no additional salary allowed to any military officer employed on the Light-House 
Board. 


500 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Ac^ of ATarcJi S, 185S {10 StaU., UJi). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That whenever any lieutenant of the Corps of Engineers, 
Corps of Topographical Engineers, . . shall have serv ed fourteen 

years’ continuous servdce as lieutenant, he shall be promoted to the 
rank of captain: Provided^ That the whole number of officers in 
either of the said corps shall not be increased beyond the number now 
fixed by law: And provided furthet^ That no officer shall be pro¬ 
moted before those who rank him in his corps. 

Sec. 10. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized, under the direction of the President of the United States, to 
employe such portion of the corps of topographical engineers . . . 

to make such explorations and suiweys as he may deem advisable, to 
ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from 
the Mississippi liiver to the Pacific Ocean. . . . 

Sec. 11. That the engineers . . . employed in said explorations 

and surveys shall be organized in as many district corps as there are 
routes to be surveyed, and their several reports shall be laid before 
Congress on or before the first Monday in February, eighteen hundred 
and fifty-four. 

* it * 

March 3, 1853 {10-240). —Places for two light-houses on the Saint Clair Flats, 
Michigan, to be selected and the work executed under the direction of the Topo¬ 
graphical Bureau. 

March 3, 1857 {11-243). —Secretary of War authorized to employ such officers of 
the Army as may be necessary for the exploration and verification of surveys already 
made of a ship canal near the Isthmus of Darien. 

Act of Alarch 3, 1869 {11 Stats.., JfSS). 

AN ACT to provide for the care and preservation of the works constructed by the 

United States for. bringing the Potomac waters into the cities of Washington and 

Georgetown, for the supj)ly of said water for all governmental purposes, and for the 

uses and benefits of the inhabitants of said cities. 

That the dams, aqueducts, water gates, reservoirs, and all fixtures 
and improvements connected therewith . . . shall be placed by 

the President of the United States under the immediate care, manage¬ 
ment, and superintendence of a properly qualified officer of the United 
States Corps of Engineers to be appointed by him, who shall act 
under the Department of the Interior; . . . and such officer as a 

compensation for the duties and responsibilities imposed upon him by 
this act, shall receive, for his pay as said engineer, no more than his 
regular pay as an officer of the corps. He shall occupy the necessary 
apartments in one of the public buildings in the city of Washington as 
may be directed by the President, and shall be supplied b}^ the Gov¬ 
ernment with the stationery, instruments, books, and furniture 
required in the performance of his public duties. . . . 


THE COEPS OF ENGINEEKR. 


507 


Act of June 23^ 1860 (1% Stats. ^ 91). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the departments of the Government, except for personal serv¬ 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of articles, or performance of the service, shall be made by advertising, 
a sufficient time previouslv, for proposals respecting the same. When 
immediate delivery or performance is required by the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are 
usualh" bought and sold, or such services engaged between individuals. 
No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be 
authorized by law, or be under an appropriation adequate to its fulfill¬ 
ment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, subsist¬ 
ence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, shall 
not exceed the necessities of the current year. No arms, nor military 
supplies whatever, which are of a patented invention, shall be pur¬ 
chased, nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, 
unless the same shall be authorized by law, and the appropriation 
therefor explicitly set forth that it is for such patented invention. 

* * * 

Act of June ^5, 1860 {12 Stats. ^ 10Ji). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. 

* * * 

For the completion of the Washington Aqueduct . . . accord- 

wig to the plans and estimates of Captain Meigs, and under his super¬ 
intendence: Provided^ That the office of engineer of the Potomac 
waterw'orks is hereby abolished, and its duties shall hereafter be dis¬ 
charged by the chief engineer of the Washington Aqueduct. 

* * * 

Act of Fehruary 21^ 1861 {12 Stats. ^ IJ^)- 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thirtieth 
of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled ‘‘An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 
the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one,” approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented firearms, as to 
which the said section shall still be in force. 


508 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of ALarcli 1861 {12 Stats. ^ 2Ilf). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services, 
in any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal 
services, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate 
deliveiy of the article or articles, or performance of the service, shall 
be made by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals 
respecting the same. When immediate delivery or performance is 
required by the public exigenc}^, the articles or service required may 
be procured by open purchase or contract at the places and in the 
manner in which such articles are usually bought and sold, or such 
services engaged between individuals. No contract or purchase shall 
hereafter be made, unless the same be authorized by law or be 
under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War 
. . . Departments, for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, 

or transportation, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of 
the current year. And the third section of the act entitled ‘‘An act 
making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial 
expenses of the Government for the year ending the thirtieth [twenty- 
third] of June, eighteen hundred and sixtj^-one,” shall be, and the 
same is hereby, repealed. 


Act of August 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 

-X- -X- -X- 

Sec. 3. That there shall be added to each of the Corps of Engineers 
and Topographical Engineers three first and three second lieutenants, 
to be promoted thereto in accordance with the existing laws and 
regulations. . . . 

Sec. 4. That there shall be added to the Corps of Engineers three 
companies of engineer soldiers, to be commanded by appropriate offi¬ 
cers of said corps, to have the same pa}^ and rations, clothing, and 
other allowances, and be entitled to the same benefits, in every respect, 
as the company created by the act for the organization of a company 
of sappers and miners and pontoniers, approved May sixteen [fifteenth], 
eighteen hundred and forty-six. The said three companies shall be 
subject to the Eules and Articles of War; shall l)e recruited in the 
same manner and with the same limitation, shall be instructed in and 
perform the same duties, and be liable to serve in the same way, and 
shall have their vehicles, pontons, tools, implements, arms, and other 
supplies regulated in the same manner as the existing engineer com¬ 
pany; and each of the four companies of engineer soldiers shall here¬ 
after be composed of ten sergeants, ten corporals, two musicians, 
sixty-four privates of the^ first class, or artificers, and sixty-four pri¬ 
vates of the second class; in all, one hundred and fifty men each. 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


509 


Act of August 6\ 1861 (12 Stats. ^ 317). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Engineer and Topographical Engineer 
Corps, and for other purposes. 

^ That there shall be added to each of the Corps of Engineers and 
Topographical Engineers, by regular promotion of their present offi¬ 
cers, two lieutenant-colonels and four majors. 

Sec. 2. That there shall be added to the Corps of Topographical 
Engineers one company of soldiers, to be commanded by appropriate 
officers of said corps, to have the same pay and rations, clothing, and 
other allowances, and to be entitled to the same benefits in every 
respect as the company created by the act for the organization of a 
company of sappers and miners and pontoniers, approved May six¬ 
teenth ftifteentnj, eighteen hundred and forty-six. The said company 
shall be subject to the Rules and Articles of War, and shall have the 
same organization as the companies of engineer soldiers attached to 
the Corps of Engineers. 

* * * 

June 2, 1862 (12-411 ).—Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to 
make contracts, with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

June 18., 1862 {12-620 ).—Supervision of the Potomac waterworks transferred from 
the War Department to the Department of the Interior. 


Act of March 3., 1863 (12 Stats. ^ 710). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance 
Department, and for other purposes. 

That the Corps of Topographical Engineers, as a distinct branch of 
the Army, is hereby abolished, and from and after the passage of this 
act is merged into the Corps of Engineers, which shall have the follow¬ 
ing organization, viz: One Chief Engineer, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of a brigadier-general; four colonels; ten lieutenant- 
colonels; twenty majors; thirty captains; thirty first lieutenants, and 
ten second lieutenants. 

Sec. 2. That the general officer provided by the first section of this 
act shall be selected from the Corps of Engineers as therein established, 
and that officers of all lower grades shall take rank according to their 
respective dates of commission in the existing Corps of Engineers or 
Corps of Topographical Engineers. 

Sec. 3. That no officer of the Corps of Engineers below the rank of 
a field officer shall hereafter be promoted to a higher grade before 
having passed a satisfactory examination before a board of three engi¬ 
neers senior to him in rank; and should the officer fail at said exami¬ 
nation he shall be suspended from promotion for one year, when he 
shall be reexamined, and, upon a second failure, shall be dropped 
by the President from the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the increase of rank of officers, and in the number of 
officers provided for in this act, shall continue only during the exist¬ 
ence of the present rebellion; and thereafter the several officers pro¬ 
moted under this act shall have the respective rank they would have 


510 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


had if this act had not passed, and the number shall be reduced by 
the President to the number authorized by law prior to the passage of 
this act. 

Mays, 1864 Commissioner of public buildings to pay to the corpora¬ 

tion of Washington City the just proportion of the cost of improving streets, ave¬ 
nues, or alleys passing through or by any of the property of the United States. 


Act of July 13^ 1866 {H Stats. ^ 90). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That the Superintendent of the United States Military 
Academy ma}^ hereafter be selected, and the officers on duty at that 
institution detailed, from any arm of the service; and the supervision 
and charge of the Academy shall be in the War Department under such 
officer or officers as the Secretary of War may assign to that duty. 

* * * 

Juhi 28, 1866 {14-310 ).—Contract for care of transient paupers, medical and surgi¬ 
cal paiients, to be made by the commissioner of public buildings. 

Act of July 28, 1866 {IJf Stats., 332). 

AN ACT to increase and f x the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 19. That the Corps of Engineers shall consist of one chief of 
engineers, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; 
six colonels, twelve lieutenant-colonels, twenty-four majors, thirty 
captains, and twenty-six first and ten second lieutenants, who shall 
have the pay and emoluments now provided by law for officers of the 
Engineer Corps. 

Sec. 20. That the five companies of engineer soldiers and the 
sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant heretofore prescribed b}^ 
law shall constitute a battalion of engineers, to be officered by officers 
of suitable rank detailed from the Corps of Engineers; and the o'fficers 
of engineers, acting respectively as adjutant and quartermaster of this 
battalion, shall be entitled to the pay and emoluments of adjutants 
and quartermasters of cavalry. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Chief of Engineers . . . shall' 

hereafter be appointed b}^ selection from the corps to which they 
belong. . . . 

* * * 

Act of Februa't^ 12, 1867 {IJf, Stats., 393). 

AN ACT to fix the pay of the quartermaster-sergeant of the Battalion of Engineers. 

That from and after the passage of this act the pay and allowances 
of the quartermaster-sergeant of the Battalion of Engineers of the 
Army of the United States shall be the same as those allowed by law 
to the sergeant-major of the battalion. 


THE CORES OE ENGINEERS. 


511 


Act of March, 2, 1867 {U Stats., Jf 7). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and for other 
purposes. 

* * -K- 

Sec. 2. That the office of commissioner of pu])lic buildings is hereby 
abolished, and the Chief Engineer of the Army shall perform all the 
duties now required by law of said commissioner,^ and shall also have 
the superintendence of the Washington Aqueduct and all the public 
works and improvements of the Government of the United States in 
the District of Columbia, unless otherwise provided- by law. . . . 

•X- * -X- 

March 1867 {14-4S7). —Section 3 authorizes a board of six officers (three from the 
Army) to determine by practical tests what increased strength or variation of form 
is necessary to enable our best stone forts to resist the heaviest guns. 

March 2, 1867 {14-571). —Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1H60, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to a})ply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred j)rior to March 1, 1861. 

July 7, 1868 {15-256). —A competent and impartial engineer officer, with two naval 
officers, to carefully examine Boston Harbor relative to the erection of a bridge over 
the water between mainland in Boston and East Boston. 

July 25, 1868 {15-171). —Chief Engineer of the Army to reimburse to the corpora¬ 
tion of the city of Washington for expenses incurred in improving the property of 
the General Government in said city; appropriations hereafter made for this purpose 
to be expended under his direction. 

Act of March 3, 1869 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Engineer Depart¬ 
ment. 

* * -X- 

Juhj 11,1870 { 16-223 ). —Three engineer officers to be detailed to examine all l)ridges 
erected, or in process of erection, across the Ohio River and report if navigation is 
obstructed thereby. 

March 5, 1872 {17-36). —Chief of Engineers and engineer in charge of public build¬ 
ings and grounds to be members of a board to examine condition of harbors and 
landings along entire water front of Washington and Georgetown. 

May 8, 1872 {17-61). —Chief of Engineers and engineer in charge of public build¬ 
ings, etc., to be members of a board to report plan for removing locomotive railroad 
track in front of the western entrance of the Capitol. 

May 15, 1872 {17-116).—Thm act establishes rates of pay of enlisted men of the 
corps from and after July 1, 1872. (See sec. 1280, R. S.) 

Act of June 10, 1872 {17 Stats., 382). 

AN ACT to repeal so much of section six of an act entitled “An act making appro¬ 
priations for the support of the Army for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen 
hundred and seventy, and for other purposes,” approved March third, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-nine, as prohibits promotions in the Engineer Department of 
the Army. 

That so much of section six of an act entitled “An act making appro¬ 
priations for the support of the Army for the year ending June thir- 

^The act of March 2, 1867 (14-434), directed the commissioner of public buildings 
to furnish proper offices for the Department of Education. 




512 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


tieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes,” approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and sixt 3 ^-nine, as prohibits promotions 
and new appointments in the Engineer Department be, and the same 
is hereby, repealed: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall 
authorize promotion in said department above the grade of colonel. 

December 17,1872 .—Three experienced officers of engineers to be detailed 

to examine and report upon proposed construction of bridges across the Ohio River. 

February 1, 1873 {17-422).—EngiwQQv soldiers placed upon same footing as regards 
extra-duty pay as other enlisted men. 

March 3, 1873 (i7-.^<?5).—Certain electrical apparatus in the Capitol subject to con¬ 
trol and supervision of the Architect of the Capitol and the commissioner of public 
buildings and grounds. 

March 3, 1873 (17-510). —Improvements and care of public grounds to be under the 
direction of the Chief of Engineers. 

March 3,1873 (17-530). —Officer in charge of public buildings and grounds to have 
rank, pay, etc., of a colonel. 

March 3, 1873 (17-560). —One or more engineers to be detailed to inquire into and 
report upon practicability of bridging the channel between Lake Huron and Lake 
Erie. 

Act of June W, 181 Ji, {IS StaP, 116). 

AN ACT for the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the President of the United States shall detail an officer 
of the Engineer Corps of the Arnn^ of the United States, who shall, 
subject to the general supervision and direction of the said Board of 
Commissioners, have the control and charge of the work of repair and 
im]3rovement of all streets, avenues, alle^^s, sewers, roads, and bridges 
of the District of Columbia; and he is hereby vested with all the power 
and authority of, and shall perform the duties heretofore devolved 
upon, the chief engineer of the board of public works. 

-X- * -X- 

June22, 1874 (18-197). —Board of Engineers to examine and report relative to 
construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River'at or near La Crosse, Wis. 

Act of June 187{18 Stcd3., 199). 

AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a commission of engineers to investigate 

and report a permanent plan for the reclamation of the alluvial basin of the Mis¬ 
sissippi River subject to inundation. 

That the President be, and he is hereby", authorized and directed to 
assign three officers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, 

. . . to serve as a board of commissioners; the president of said 

board to be designated by the President of the United States. It shall 
be the duty of said commission to make a full report to the President 
of the best system for the permanent reclamation and redemption of 
said alluvial basin from inundation, . . . 

* * * 


Act of June 23, 187^ {18 Stats., 237.) 

AN ACT making appropriations for the repair, preservation, and completion of cer¬ 
tain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That a board of engineers, to be composed of three from the 
Army, ... be appointed by the President; which said board 
shall make a survey of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with a view 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


513 


to determine the best method of obtaining* and maintaining a depth of 
water sufficient for the purposes of commerce, either by a canal from 
said river to the waters of the Gulf, or by deepening one or more of 
the natural outlets of said river; and said board shall make a full and 
detailed estimate and statement of the cost of each and said places, and 
shall report the same, together with their opinion thereon, showing 
which of all said plans they deem preferable, giving their reasons 
therefor, to the Secretary of War, to be presented at the commence¬ 
ment of the second session of the Forty-third Congress; . . . 

June 23, 1874 {18-237 ).—Three officers of engineers to be members of a commission 
to survey mouth of the Mississippi River. 

March 3, 1875 {18-375 ).—One engineer officer to be detailed as member of a board 
to conduct experiments in testing iron and steel. 

March 3,1875 {18-456 ).—Board of engineers to be convened to examine and report 
upon improvement of the channel between Staten Island and New Jersey. 

Note.—U nder the direction of the Secretary of War, Col. O. E. Babcock, of the 
Corps of Engineers, was, March 3, 1875, placed in chaYge of the construction of the 
Sffite, War, and Navy building. He was relieved, March 3, 1877, by Col. Thomas 
Lincoln Casey, Corps of Engineers. 

Act of August 1876 {19 Stats., m). 

AN ACT providing for the completion of the Washington Monument. 

. . . And the construction of said monument shall be under the 

direction and supervision of . . . the Chief of Engineers of the 

United States Army, . . . which officers are hereby constituted 

a joint commission for the purpose . 

March 3, 1877 {19-344) •—Appropriates $25,000 to be expended under the direction 
of the Chief of Engineers in continuing the survey of the Mississippi River and its 
tributaries v/ith a view of determining proper method of reclaiming from overflow 
the alluvial lands of the Mississippi delta. 

REVISED STATUTES—2ND EDITION—1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 519. The Chief of Engineers shall furnish proper offices for 
the use of the Office of Education. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of— 

* * * 

A Corps of Engineers. 

A battalion of engineer soldiers. 

* * * 

Sec. 1151. The Corps of Engineers shall consist of one Chief of 
Engineers, with the rank of brigadier-general; six colonels, twelve 
lieutenant-colonels, twenty-four majors, thirty captains, twenty-six 
first lieutenants, and ten second lieutenants, and the battalion: Pro¬ 
vided, That no promotion shall be made to fill any vacancy in said 
corps above the rank of colonel. 

Sec. 1152. The Chief of Engineers is authorized, with the approval 
of the Secretary of War, to regulate and determine the number, 
quality, form, and dimensions of the necessary vehicles, pontoons, 
tools, implements, arms, and other supplies for the use of the battalion 
of engineer soldiers. 

Sec. 1153. It shall be the duty of the engineer superintending the 
S. Doc. 229-33 


514 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


construction of a fortification or engaged about the execution of any 
other public work to disburse the moneys applicable to the same; but 
no compensation shall be allowed him for such disbursement. 

Sec. 1154. The battalion of engineers shall consist of the five com¬ 
panies of engineers now existing, one sergeant-major, and one quar¬ 
termaster-sergeant, who shall also be commissary-sergeant. 

Sec. 1155. Each company of engineer soldiers shall consist of ten 
sergeants, ten corporals, two musicians, and as many privates of the 
first class, not exceeding sixty-four, and as man}^ privates of the second 
class, not exceeding sixty-four, as the President may direct, and shall 
be recruited in the same manner, and with the same’ limitation, and 
shall be entitled to the same provisions, allowances, and benefits, in 
every respect, as are allowed to other troops constituting the present 
military peace establishment. 

Sec. 1156. A battalion adjutant, a battalion quartermaster, and 
appropriate officers to command the companies and battalion of engi¬ 
neer soldiers shall be detailed from the Corps of Engineers. 

Sec. 1157. The enlisted men of the engineer battalion shall perform 
the duties of sappers, miners, and pontoniers, and shall aid in giving 
practical instruction in those branches at the Military Academy. The}^ 
may be detailed by the Chief of Engineers to oversee and aid laborers 
upon fortifications and other works in charge of the Engineer Corps, 
and as fort keepers to protect and repair finished fortifications. 

Sec. 1158. Engineers shall not assume nor be ordered on any duty 
beyond the line of their immediate profession, except by the special 
order of the President. They may, at the discretion of the President, 
be transferred from one corps to another, regard being paid to rank. 
* * * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Chief of Engineers . . . shall be 

appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong. 

* * * 

Sec. 1196. The Secretary of War may detail six officers from the 
Corps of Engineers, and any number of noncommissioned officers and 
privates not exceeding one hundred from the battalion of engineers, 
for the performance of signal duty; but no officer or enlisted man shall 
be so detailed until he shall have been examined and approved by a 
military board convened b}" the Secretary of War. 

* * * 

Sec. 1206. No officer of the Corps of Engineers below the rank of 
field officer shall be promoted to a higher grade until he shall have 
been examined and approved by a board of three engineers senior to 
him in rank. If an engineer officer fail on such examination, he shall 
be suspended from promotion for one year, when he shall be reexam¬ 
ined before a like board. In case of failure on such reexamination, 
he shall be dismissed from the service. 

Sec. 1207. When any lieutenant of the Corps of Engineers has 
served fourteen years’ continuous service as lieutenant, he shall be 
promoted to the rank of captain, on passing the examination provided 
by the preceding section, but such promotion shall not authorize an 
appointment to fill any vacancy when such appointment would increase 
the whole number of officers in the corps beyond the number fixed by 
law; nor shall any officer be promoted before officers of the same grade 
who rank him in his corps. 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


515 


Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any military stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 

* * * 

Sec. 1280. The monthly pay of the following enlisted men of the 
Army shall, during their iirst term of enlistment, be as follows, with 
the contingent additions thereto hereinafter provided; 

* • * * 

Sergeant-majors of engineers, thirty-six dollars. 

Quartermaster-sergeants of engineers, thirty-six dollars. 

Sergeants of engineers, . . . thirty-four dollars. 

Corporals of engineers, . . . twenty dollars. 

Musicians of engineers, . . . thirteen dollars. 

Privates (first class) of engineers, . . . seventeen dollars. 

Privates (second class) of engineers, . . . thirteen dollars. 

Sec. 1281. This section adds $1 per month for each of the third, fourth, and fifth 
year of first enlistment. 

Sec. 1282. Fixes the pay of men reenlisting at the rate of pay for third year of first 
term of service. 

* * * 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, to be charged 
against the officer responsible unless he can show that the deficiency or damage 
was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

* * * 

Sec. 1797. The Chief of Engineers shall have charge of the public 
buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia, under such regu¬ 
lations as may be prescribed b}^ the President through the War Depart¬ 
ment, except those buildings and grounds which are otherwise provided 
for by law. 

Sec. 1798. All estimates for public buildings and grounds in charge 
of the Chief of Engineers shall be approved and submitted by the 
Secretary of War, through the Treasury Department, as other esti¬ 
mates, to the two Houses of Congress; and all appropriations which 
have been or may be hereafter made for repairs or improvements of 
the public buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia and now 
in charge of the Chief of Engineers shall be expended under the 
direction of the Secretaiy of War. 

Sec. 1799. The Chief of Engineers, in charge of public buildings 
and grounds, is authorized to employ in his office and about the public 
buildings and grounds under his control such number of persons for 
such employments and at such rates of compensation as may be appro¬ 
priated for by Congress from year to year. 

Sec. 1800 . The Chief of Engineers shall have the immediate superin¬ 
tendence of the Washington Aqueduct, together with all rights, appur¬ 
tenances, and fixtures connected with the same and belonging to the 
United States, and of all other public works and improvements in the 
District of Columbia in which the Government has an interest and 
which are not otherwise specially provided for by law. 

Sec. 1801 . He shall obey, in the discharge of the duties mentioned 


516 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

in the preceding section, such regulations, pursuant to law, as may he 
prescribed by the President, through the Department of War. 

* * * 

Sec. 1803. Forbids tapping or opening mains or pipes laid by the Government in 
Washington City unless by consent of the Chief of Engineers. 

* * * 

Sec. 1807. The Chief of Engineers shall receive no compensation, 
other than his regular pay as an officer of the Corps of Engineers, for 
the services required of him under the provisions of this title. 

[Seat of government, including the public buildings.] 

Sec. 1808. He shall be furnished official apartments in one of the 
public buildings in the city of Washington, as may be directed by the 
President, and shall be supplied by the Government with the sta¬ 
tionery, instruments, books, and furniture which may be required for 
the performance of his duties. 

Sec. 1809. He shall keep in his office a complete record of all the 
lands and other property connected with or belonging to the Wash¬ 
ington Aqueduct and other public works under his charge, together 
with accurate plans and surve^^s of the public grounds and reservations 
m the District of Columbia. 

Sec. 1810. Chief of Engineers to have full control over the Washington Aqueduct 
and the supply of water. 

Sec. 1811. Decisions of Chief of Engineers on all questions relative to supply of 
water subject to appeal to the Secretary of War only. 

Sec. 1812. That Chief of Engineers shall, as superintendent of pub¬ 
lic buildings and grounds and as superintendent of the Washington 
Aqueduct, annually submit the following reports to the Secretary of 
War in time to accompany the annual message of the President to 
Congress, namely: 

First. A report of his operations for the preceding year, with an 
account of the manner in which all appropriations for public buildings 
and grounds have been applied, including a statement of the number 
of public lots sold or remaining unsold each year, of the condition of 
the public buildings and grounds, and of the measures necessary to be 
taken for the care and preservation of all public property under his 
charge. 

Second. A report of the condition, progress, repairs, casualties, 
and expenditures of the Washington Aqueduct and other public 
works under his charge. 

* * * 

Sec. 1817. Certain electrical apparatus in the Capitol subject to control and super¬ 
vision of the Architect of the Capitol and the Chief of Engineers in charge of public 
buildings and grounds. 

* * * 

Sec. 1819. Laws and regulations for the preservation of peacre in Washington City 
to extend to Capitol square when requested by the Chief of Engineers in charge of 
public buildings and grounds. 

* * * 

Sec. 8714. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service shall be made by or under the direction 

of the chief officers of the Department of War. . . . And all 

agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 


THE COKPS OF ENGINEERS. 


517 


their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper depart¬ 
ment for which such supplies or services are required, subject, 
nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the 
Treasury. 

* * * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, i860, in favor of disloyal persons; this not 
to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made unless the same is authorized by law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulhllment. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to make contracts 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns, 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

«• * * 

Sec. 4653. The President shall appoint . . . two officers of the 

Corps of Engineers of the Army, . . . together with . . . 

and an officer of Engineers of the Army, as secretaries, who shall 
constitute the Light-House Board. 

* * * 

Sec. 4663. Whenever preliminary surve3^s are required to ascertain 
the necessity for any light-house, light-ship, beacon, or other warning 
to vessels, . . . the Secretary of the Treasuiy ma}^ cause . . . 

those on the Northwestern Lakes to be made under the direction of the 
Corps of Engineers. . . . 

Sec. 4664. The President shall cause to be detailed from the 
Engineer Corps of the Arm}^ from time to time such officers as ma^^ 
be necessary to superintend the construction and renov^ation of light¬ 
houses. 

Sec. 4665. The Light-House Board shall cause to be prepared hj 
the engineer secretary of the board, or by such officers of Engineers 
of the Army as may be detailed for that service, all plans, drawings, 
specifications, and estimates of cost of all illuminating and other appa¬ 
ratus, and of construction and repair of towers, buildings, etc., con¬ 
nected with the Light-House Establishment. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 4671. An officer of the Army . . . shall be assigned to 

each district as a light-house inspector, subject to the orders of the 
Light-House Board, and shall receive for such service the same pay 
and emoluments that he would be entitled to b}" law for the perform¬ 
ance of duty in the regular line of his profession, and no other, except 
the legal allowahce per mile when traveling under orders connected 
with his duties. 

* * * 

Sec. 4679. No additional salary allowed to any officer of the Army on account of 
his being employed on the Light-House Board. 

Sec. 4680. Members of the Light-House Board or inspectors forbidden to be inter¬ 
ested, directly or indirectly, in any contract for labor, materials, or supplies for the 
Light-House Service. 


518 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OB^ GENERAL STAFB’ OB' V. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 4684. The President . . . shall cause to be employed as 

many officers of the Army . . . of the United States as will be 

compatible with the successful prosecution of the work of coast sur¬ 
vey; . . . the officers of the Army to be employed on the topo¬ 
graphical part of the work; and no officer of the Army . . . shall 

receive any extra pay out of any appropriations for surveys. 

* * * 

Sec. 4687. Officers of the Army . . . shall, as far as practi¬ 
cable, be employed in the work of surveying the coast of the United 
States whenever and in the manner required by the Department hav¬ 
ing charge thereof. 

Sec. 4688. The Secretary of the Treasury may make such allowances 
to the officers and men of the Army . . . while employed on coast 
survey service, for subsistence, in addition to their compensation, as 
he may deem necessary, . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 5253. The Chief of Engineers may, with the approval of the 
Secretary of War, employ such civil engineers, not exceeding live in 
number, for the purpose of executing the surveys and improvements 
of Western and Northwestern rivers ordered by Congress, as may be 
necessary to the proper and diligent prosecution of the same; and the 
persons so emplo 3 ^ed may be allowed a reasonable compensation for 
their services, not to exceed the sum of three thousand dollars a year. 

-X- * * 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

June 11, 1878 {20-102 ').—An engineer officer to be detailed, from time to time, as 
one of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. 

Resohition of June 1879 {21 Stats. ^ 51). 

JOINT RESOLUTION relating to a bridge across the Detroit River at or near Detroit, 

Michigan. 

Whereas recent progress in the art has shown the practicability of 
constructing bridges having spans of live hundred feet or possibty 
more: Therefore, 

Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled.^ That the Secretary of War 
is hereby authorized and required to convene a board of officers of the 
Corps of Engineers of the Army, whose duty it shall be to inquire into 
and report whether, for railroad purposes, the river Detroit can be 
bridged or tynneled at the city of Detroit, or within one mile above 
or below said city, in such manner as to accommodate the large trade 
and commerce crossing the river at that point and without material 
or undue injury to the navigation of said river a good and sufficient 
tug being always kept by the bridge owners to assist any craft when 
required. 

Act of June 29, 1879 {21 Stats., 37). 

AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a “Mississippi River Commission” for 

the improvement of said river from the Head of the Passes near its mouth to its 

head waters. 

That a commission is hereby created, to be called “The Mississippi 
River Commission,” to consist of seven members. 

Sec. 2. The President of the United States shall, by and with the 


THE CORPS OB" ENGINEERS. 


519 


iidvice and consent of the Senate, appoint seven commissioners, three 
of whom shall be selected from the Engineer Corps of the Army, 
. . . And any vacancy which may occur in the commission shall 

in like manner be filled by the President of the United States; and he 
shall desio-nate one of the commissioners appointed from the Engineer 
Corps of the Army to be president of the commission. The commis¬ 
sioners appointed from the Engineer Corps of the Army 
shall receive no other pay or compensation than is now allowed them 
by law, . . . and tlie commissioners appointed under this act 

shall remain in office subject to removal bv the President of the United 
States. 

Sb:c. 3. . . . The Secretary of War shall, when requested by 

said commission, detail from the Engineer Corps of the Arni}^ such 
officers and men as may be necessary, . . . 

x- * * 

Sec. 6. The Secretary of War ma}^ detail from the Engineer Corps 
of the Army of the United States an officer to act as secretary of said 
commisssion. 

* * * 

Act of June 30^ 1879 {^1 Stats., If). 

AN ACT providing for filling vacancies in the office of Chief of Engineers, United 

States Army. 

That so much of the act of June tenth, eighteen hundred and 
seventy-two, chapter four hundred and twenty-six, volume seventeen, 
page three hundred and eighty-two. Statutes at Large, as prohibits 
promotion in the Corps of Engineers above the rank of colonel, and 
all other acts prohibiting said promotion, be, and the same are hereb}^, 
repealed. 

.Tune, 14, 18S0 {21-180). —A board of engineers to be convened to determine upon 
a plan for constructing an ice harbor at St. Lonis; an officer of engineers to prepare 
a plan for the improvement of the harbor at Kewaunee, Wis. 

March 3, 1881 {21-468 ).— One engineer officer to be detailed as member of a board 
to examine all inventions of heavy ordnance, and improvements of heavy ordnance, 
and projectiles that may be presented to them. 

.Tidy 1, 1882 {22-135). —Operations of the water department of the District of Co¬ 
lumbia to be under direction of the Engineer Commissioner. 

August 2, 1882 {22-191). —A board of officers of engineers to examine the Calumet 
River, Ill., with a view to its improvement; skillful engineers to survey the Illinois 
and Michigan Canal for pur])ose of enlarging the same; no surveys to be made of 
rivers and harbors until the Chief of Engineers has reported that the work of im¬ 
provement is a public necessity. 

Act of March 3, 1883 {2^2 Stats., 531). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 

of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred 

and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

STATE, WAR, AND NAVY DEPARTMENT BUILDING. 

The President is hereby authorized and directed to designate from 
the Engineer Corps of the Army or the Navy an officer well qualified for 
the purpose, who shall be detailed to act as superintendent of the 
completed portions of the State, War, and Navy Department building, 
under the direction of the Secretaries of State, War, and Navy, . . . 

* ■ * * 


520 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of July 5, 188 J 4 , {28 138). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of 
certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

That a commission to be called the Missouri River Commission is 
hereby created, to consist of live members. 

That the President shall nominate and, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, appoint live commissioners, three of whom shall 
be selected from the Corps of Engineers of the Army . . . ; and 

he shall in like manner fill any vacancy" in said commission; and he 
shall designate one of the commissioners appointed from the Corps of 
Engineers to be president of the commission. The commissioners 
appointed from the Corps of Engineers shall receive no other pa}^ or 
compensation than is allowed them by law . . . ; and all said com¬ 

missioners shall remain in ofiSce subject to removal by the President 
of the United States. 

That . . . the Secretary of War is hereby authorized and 
directed ... to detail from the Corps of Engineers such officers 
and men as may be necessary, . 

That . . . the Secretary of War may detail from the Corps of 
Engineers ... an officer to act as secretaiy of the commission, 

* * * 


Act of March J, 1885 {28 Stats., JfJJi). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defence, and for 
the armament thereof, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred 
and eighty-six, and for other purposes. 

* * 

And the President of the United States shall appoint a board, of 
which the Secretary of War shall be a member and president, to be 
composed of two officers of the Engineer Corps, . . . which board 

shall examine and report at what ports fortifications or other defences 
are most urgently required, the character and kind of defences best 
adapted for each, with reference to armament, the utilization of tor¬ 
pedoes, mines, or other defensive appliances, . 

For the purchase of movable submarine torpedoes propelled and 
controlled by power operated and transmitted from shore stations as 
may be recommended by the Board of Engineers of the Army of the 
United States and approved by the Secretary of War, . . . 

* * * 

July 20, 1886 {24-147). —One or more engineer officers to supervise construction of 
a bridge across the west channel of the Detroit River at Detroit. 

Act of August 5, 1886 {21^ Stats., 310). 


AN ACT making appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of 
certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes. 

* * ■ * 

The Secretary of War is authorized and directed to appoint a board 
of three engineers from the United States Army, whose duty it shall 
be to examine, in all their relations to commerce, the Sturgeon Bay 


THE COKPS OF ENGINEERS. 


521 


and Lake Michigan Ship Canal, connecting the waters of Green Bay 
with Lake Michigan, in the State of Wisconsin, with a view to making 
the same a free passageway and harbor of refuge, to consider their 
value, and all other matters connected with their usefulness to naviga¬ 
tion, and which shall give information as to the expediency of the 
work and the desirability of their acquisition and improvement. The 
said board shall report to the Secretary of War, who shall lay its report 
before Congress at its next session, together with the views of himself 
and the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army thereon; . . . 
* * * 

The Secretary of AVar is hereby authorized and directed to ascertain 
the value and commercial importance of the works and property of the 
Green and Barren River Navigation Company, situated in the Green 
and Barren rivers, in the State of Kentucky, and of the Monongahela 
Navigation Company, situated on the Monongahela River, in the State 
of Pennsylvania; and in order to acquire such information the Secre¬ 
tary of War shall appoint a board of three competent engineers from 
the Engineer Corps of the United States Army, which board shall in 
each case report to the Secretary of AAar . . . 

* * * 

The Secretary of AVar is authorized and directed to appoint a board 
of three engineers from the United States Army, whose duty it shall 
be to examine, in all their relations to commerce, the two improved 
waterways knowm as the Portage Lake and River Improvement Com¬ 
pany Canal and the Lake Superior Ship Canal Railway and Iron 
Company Canal, being the improved harbors of refuge and the water 
communication across Keweenaw Point from Keweenaw Bay to Lake 
Superior, by way of Portage River and Lake, in the State of Michi¬ 
gan, with a view to making the same a free passagew^ay and harbor of 
refuge, to consider their value, and all other matters connected with 
their usefulness to navigation, and which shall give information as to 
the expediency of the work and the desirability of their acquisition 
and improvement. The said board shall report to the Secretary of 
AYar, who shall lay its report before Congress at its next session, 
together with the views of himself and the Chief of Engineers of the 
United States Army thereon; .’ . . 

* * * 

The Secretary of AYar is authorized and directed to appoint a board 
of three engineers from the United States Army, whose duty it shall 
be to examine, in all their relations to commerce, the Illinois and 
Michigan Canal and the proposed Hennepin Canal, to consider their 
value, and all other matters connected with their usefulness to naviga¬ 
tion, and shall report upon the acquisition and improvement of the 
Illinois and Michigan Canal and the construction of the Hennepin 
Canal. The said board shall report to the Secretary of AA^ar, who shall 
lay its report before Congress at its next session, together with the 
views of himself and the Chief of Engineers of the United States 
Army thereon; . . 

' * * * 

Sec. 7. . . . Provided^ That no survey shall be made of any 

harbors or rivers until the Chief of Engineers shall have directed a 
preliminary examination of the same by the local engineer in charge 
of the district, or an engineer detailed for the purpose; and such local 


522 LEGISLATIVE HISTOBY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 


or detailed engineer shall report to said Chief of Engineers whether, 
in his opinion, said harbor or river is worthy of improvement, and 
shall state in such report fully and particularly the facts and reasons 
on which he bases such opinion, including the present and prospective 
demands of commerce; and it shall be the duty of the Chief of Engi 
neers to direct the making of such survey if in his opinion, the harbor 
or river proposed to be surveyed be worthy of improvement by the 
General Government; and he shall report to the Secretary of War 
the facts and what public necessity or convenience may be subserved 
thereby, together with the full reports of the local engineer. 

* * * 

March 3, 1887 {^4-472). —Board of engineer officers to examine map and drawings 
for bridge across the Great Kanawha River in West Virginia. 

Resolution of March 5, 1888 {26 Stats., 618). 

JOINT RESOLUTION authorizing the Secretary of War to appoint a board of three 
engineers to examine and report in relation to the Delaware River between the 
city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey, and for other pur¬ 
poses. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
immediately appoint a board of three engineers from the United States 
Army, whose duty is shall be to extimine, in all their relations to com¬ 
merce, the islands known as Smiths Island, Windmill Island, and 
Pettys Island, in the Delaware Kiver, between the city of Philadelphia, 
in the State of Pennsylvania, and the city of Camden, in the State of 
New^ Jersey, which board shall forthwith report to the Secretary of 
War as to whether said islands, or any shoal in the said river between 
or adjacent to the said islands or any of them, constitute an obstruction 
to the commerce of the Delaware River or to the passage of vessels 
betw^een the said States, and with a view to removing said islands 
and shoals to report a plan, with the estimate of cost for their removal, 
in whole or in part, and for the improvement of the harbor of the port 
of Philadelphia, including the probable cost to the Government of said 
islands, so as to secure free and uninterrupted commerce upon the said 
Delaware River, and the unobstructed passage of vessels to and from 
and between the said States; ... 

May 24, 1888 {25-155). —This resolution authorizes the detail of an officer of the 
Engineer Corps, in cooperation with the Maumee Valley Monumental Association, 
to examine and inspect the enumerated historic grounds, location, and military 
works. Survey and full report to be made to Congress. 

June 19, 1888 { 25-195).^ —Three engineer officers to examine location of proposed 
bridge across the IMississippi River at Hickman, Ky. 

August 11, 1888 {25-400). —Board of three engineers to examine plans for improve¬ 
ment of Winyard Bay, South Carolina, and harbor of St. Augustine, Fla., and har¬ 
bor at Key West, Fla., ami to examine obstructions to navigation at certain points 
in the Columbia River; Chief of Engineers to direct preliminary surveys of rivers and 
harbors if deemed by hir‘ worthy of improvement. 

Act of September 22, 1888 {25 Stats., Jf87). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defense, for the 
armament thereof, for the procurement of heavy ordnance for trial and service, 
and for other purposes. ’ 

That the appropriations hereinafter provided for shall be available 
until expended, and shall be expended under the direct supervision of 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


52B 


a board to consist of . . . an officer of engineers, ... to 

be selected by the Secretary of War, to be called and known as the 
Board of Ordnance and Fortification; . 

* * * 


Act of October 1888 {25 Stats., 505). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

BUILDING FOR THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

^ * * 

This appropriation and all appropriations hereafter made, and all 
sums available from appropriations heretofore made for this purpose, 
shall be expended under the direction and supervision of the Chief of 
Engineers of the Army, who shall have the control and management 
of all of said work and the employment of all persons connected there¬ 
with. And all contracts for the construction of said building, or any 
part thereof, shall be made by the Chief of Engineers of the Army; 

. . . and the duties of said commission under said act are hereby 

devolved upon the Chief of Engineers of the Army, who shall annually 
report to Congress, at the commencement of each session, a detailed 
statement of all the proceedings under the provisions of this act, 

. . . : Provided, That before any further contracts are let for the 

construction of said building, general plans for the entire construction 
thereof shall be prepared by or under the direction of the Chief of 
Engineers of the Army, which plans shall be subject to the inspection 
and approval of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the 
Interior: . . . 

* * * 

October 19, 1888 {25-632). —Authorizes the Secretary of War to use so much of 
unexpended balance of appropriation for the Washington Aqueduct tunnel in District 
of Columbia as may be necessary to protect and preserve the work already done upon 
that tunnel. 

February 23, 1899 {25-690) .—OnQ or more engineer officers to survey a national 
road from the Aqueduct Bridge to Mount Vernon. 

Act of MciTch 2, 1889 {25 Stats., 905). 

AN ACT making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for prior 
years, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Water supply. District of Columbia .— To enable the Secptary of 
War to cause to be constructed and put in operation a forty-eight-inch 
cast-iron main from the present distributing reservoir above George¬ 
town, ... to connect with the present forty-eight-inch main 
from the new reservoir at R and Fourth streets . . . The said 

work shall be done under the direction of the Chief of Engineers, in 
the shortest practicable time. ... 


524 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


April 19^ 1S90 {26-671). —Board of engineers to report on practica])ility and cost 
of tunneling the Detroit River near Detroit, Mich. 

July 11, 1S90 {26-268).—Bo‘dn\ of engineers to take testimony relative to clear 
height of North River Bridge, New York, above ordinary high water. 

Augud 18, 1890 {20-315).—An officer of engineers, not below rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, to be a member of a board to inquire into the facilities for producing steel 
forgings for high-power guns at or near the Pacific coast, in the vicinity of the Rock 
Island Arsenal, the Indianapolis Arsenal, and at some point on or near the Gulf 
coast; also as to the advisability of erecting at those points gun factories for finishing 
and assembling high-power guns. 

Resolution of August ^8^ 1890 {^6 Stats.., 678). 

JOINT RESOLUTION extending the privilege of the Library of Congress to the 

members and secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Chief of 

Engineers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army. 

That the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library be authorized 
to extend the use of the books in the Library of Congress to . . . 

the Chief of Engineers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, 
resident in Washington, on the same conditions and restrictions as mem¬ 
bers of Congress are allov^ed to use the Library. 

September 19, 1890 {26-426). —Boards of three engineer officers to determine best 
location for a deep-water harbor between Points Duma and Capistrans, on the Pacific 
coast; to report on reduced project, etc., for harbor of refuge at Port Orford, Greg.; 
to survey most feasible location for a ship canal to connect Lakes Union, Washing-' 
ton, and Samamish with Puget Sound; to examine the obstructions to navigation in 
the Hudson River. 

Act of Septemher ^7, 1890 (^6 Stats. ^ 1^92). 

AN ACT authorizing the establishing of a public park in the District of Columbia. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, the 
Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia, . . . be, and 

they are hereby, created a commission to select the land for said park, 
of the quantity and within the limits aforesaid, and to have the same 
surveyed by the assistant to the said Engineer Commissioner of the 
District of Columbia in charge of public highways, which said assist¬ 
ant shall also act as executive officer of the said commission. 

* * * 

Sec. T. That the public park authorized and established by this act 
shall be under the joint control of the . . . Chief of Engineers of 

the United States Arnnq . . 

September 30, 1890 {26-554). —Board of three engineer officers to determine in a 
given contingency whether the use of the Louisville and Portland Canal basin by 
Messrs. Byrne and Speed is prejudicial to the canal or its use. 


Resolution of Decembei^ 1890 {26 Stats. ^ 1113). 


JOINT RESOLUTION defining a quorum of the Board of Commissioners of the 
District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

. . . Hereafter such Engineer Commissioner may, in the discre¬ 

tion of the President of the United States, be detailed from among the 
captains or officers of higher grade having served at least fifteen years 
in the Corps of Engineers of the Army of the United States. 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 525 

Fehruar]! 9, 1891 {26-740). —Safe deep harbor on the coast of Texas, to be inspected 
by Army engineers. 

July 13y 1892 {^-88). —Board of five engineer officers to carefully examine for a 
proposed deep-water harbor at San Pedro or Santa Monica bays, California; board of 
seven engineer officers to rejiort on removal of obstructions to navigation in the 
Columbia River; Chief of Engineers to submit, with his views, reports of local and 
division engineers having made preliminary examinations of rivers and harbors 
authorized by this act. 


Act of July ^7, 1892 {27 Stats., 276). 

AN ACT amending the act of October first, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled 

“An act to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army and to regu¬ 
late promotions therein.” 

* * * 

Si:c. 2. That the examination of officers of the Corps of Engineers 
. who were officers or enlisted men in the regular or volunteer 
service, either in the Army, Navy, or the Marine Corps, during the 
war of the rebellion, shall be conducted by boards composed in the 
same manner as for the examination of other officers of their respective 
corps and department; and the examination shall embrace the same 
subjects prescribed for all other officers of similar grades in the Corps 
of Engineers, . . . respectively. 

July 21, 1892 {27-281). —An engineer officer to be detailed to examine and report 
upon work for the improvement of the outer bar of Brunswick, Ga. (This provision 
is repeated in act of iMarch 1, 1893 (27-529). 

Augmt 5, 1892 {27-349). —Brig.'Gen. T. L. Casey to continue in charge of building 
for the Library of Congress, whether on the active or the retired list of the Army. 

Act of March 1, 1893 (27 Stats., 507). 

AN ACT to create the California Debris Commission and regulate hydraulic mining 

in the State of California. 

That a commission*is hereby created, to be known as the California 
Debris Commission, consisting of three members. The President of 
the United States shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen¬ 
ate, appoint the commission from officers of the Corps of Engineers, 
United States Army. Vacancies occurring therein shall be tilled in 
like manner. It shall have the authority and exercise the powers 
hereinafter set forth, under the supervision of the Chief of Engineers 
and direction of the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 2. That said commission shall organize within thirty days after 
its appointment by the selection of such officers as may be required in 
the performance of its duties, the same to be selected from the mem¬ 
bers thereof. The members of said commission shall receive no 
greater compensation than is now allowed by law to each, respectively, 
as an officer of said Corps of Engineers. 

-X- * * 

March 1, 1893 {27-529).—Aw officer of Engineers to examine and report upon 
improvement of the outer bar of Brunswick, Georgia. 

March 2, 1893 {27-532).—Chief oi Engineers to be a member of the commission 
created for supervision of iiermanent system of highways in District of Columbia, 

outside of cities. i j 

Septemher 7, 1893 {28-2). —Repairs to the old Ford’s Theater to be made under 
direction of the Chief of Engineers. 


526 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of March '29, ISOJf, {28 Stats., ^7). 


AN ACT to regulate the making of property returns ])y officers of the Government. 


That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of the Treas¬ 
ury Department returns of public property intrusted to the possession 
of officers or agents, . . . the Chief of Engineers, . . . shall 

certify to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department, 
for debiting on the proper account, any charge against any officer or 
agent intrusted with the public propert}^, arising from any loss, accru- 
ing by his fault, to the Government as to the property so intrusted to 
him. 

* * * 

June S7, 1894 {28-586 ).—Commission of three engineer officers to report upon cost 
of deepening the harbors of Superior and Duluth. 

August 6, 1894 {28-233). —Purchases, not exceeding $200, may be made in open 
market. 

August 18, 1894 {28-338 ).—Two officers of engineers to be members of a board to 
certify correctness of accounts for improving outer bar of Brunswick, Ga.; Chief of 
Engineers and one officer of his corps to be members of a board to determine the 
most feasible route for construction of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal; board 
of three engineer officers to survey canal routes from Lake Erie to the Ohio River 
and report to Congress at its next session. Resolution of December 24, 1894 (28-967) 
authorizes delay of report until the first session of the next Congress. 

March 2, 1895 {28-744 ).—Improvement of the Dalecarlia receiving reservoir to be 
under Col. G. H. Elliott notwithstanding his retirement, and in the event of his 
death, under the direction of the Chief of Engineers. 

March 2, 1895 {28-910 ).—Board of three engineer officers to examine bar of Yaquina 
Bay, Oregon; one officer of engineers to be member of a board to ascertain feasibility 
and cost of constructing and completing the Nicaraguan Canal; officer in charge of 
building for tbe Library of Congress to receive the pay and allowances of his grade 
on the active list; fireproof building for the Government printing office to be con¬ 
structed by the Chief of Engineers. 

June 3, 1896 {29-202 ).—One officer of engineers to be member of a board to report 
on improvements by Brazos River Channel and Dock Company; boards of three 
engineer officers each to report on dike between Reedy Island and Liston’s Point, 
Pa. ; to submit plans for the improvement of the Sacramento and Feather rivers, 
California. 

March 3, 1897 {29-685 ).—Board of three engineer officers to report on plan and loca¬ 
tion of a bridge over the Mississippi River to the city of St. Louis, Mo. 

June 4, 1897 {30-11 ).—Boards of three engineer officers each to survey and deter¬ 
mine routes and cost of deep waterways between the great lakes and the Atlantic 
tide waters; to examine improvements at Aransas Pass, Tex. Chief of Engineers 
to make the surveys, etc., for a memorial bridge from Washington City to Arlington. 

February 17, 1898 {30-735 ).—Board of three engineer officers to survey and 
report upon practicability of a navigable channel throughout southwest pass of the 
Mississippi River. 

April 11, 1898 {30-737 ).—Incases of emergency, temporary forts or fortifications 
may be constructed upon written consent of the owner of the land on wliich such 
work is to be placed. 

Act of April 22, 1898 {30 Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 

consist of . . . one chief engineer, . . . avIio shall have 

. . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel. . . . The stalt' of the com¬ 
mander of a division shall consist of . . . one chief engineer, 

. . . who shall have . . . the rank of major. . . . 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


527 


Act of A])rit 26, ISOS {30 Stats., 364). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the line of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

8ec. 3. That upon a declaration of war by Congress, or a declaration 
of Congress that war exists, the enlisted strength of a company . 
may, in the discretion of the President, be increased to comprise not 
exceeding: 

* * * 

For each company of engineers: one first sergeant, ten sergeants, 
ten corporals, two musicians, sixty-four tirst-class priyates, sixt}--three 
second-class priyates; total enlisted, one hundred and fifty. 

* * * 

May 11, 1898 [30-405). —Not to exceed three officers of engineers may hold volun¬ 
teer conimissions at the same time in any one of the three regiments of engineers 
authorized; all officers to be appointed by the President and with the consent of the 
Senate. 

Jane 28, 1898 [80-519). —Chief of Engineers to be a member of the commission to 
examine plat of readjustment of highways in District of Columbia outside of cities. 

June 29, 1898 [30-522). —One officer of engineers to be member of board to deter¬ 
mine width of draw or pivot span in bridge across Niagara river; one or more engi¬ 
neer officers to be constituted a board to personally supervise construction of said 
bridge. 


Act of July 5, ISOS {30 Stats., 652). 

AN ACT relative to the Corps of Engineers of the Army. 

That the Corps of Engineers of the Army shall hereafter consist of 
one Chief of Engineers, with the rank of brigadier-general, seyen 
colonels, fourteen lieutenant-colonels, twent}--eight majors, thirty-fiye 
captains, thirty first lieutenants, twelve second lieutenants, and the 
battalion of engineers: Provided, That the vacancies created by this 
act in all grades above second lieutenant shall be filled by the promotion 
by seniority of the officers now in -the Corps of Engineers: A)idpro¬ 
vided further, That the number of officers in any grade above second 
lieutenant shall not be increased beyond the number heretofore estab¬ 
lished by law by the promotion of any officer to fill an original vacancy 
created by this act until such officer shall have served at least three 
years in the grade from which he is promoted, and the captains and 
lieutenants shall have satisfactorily passed the examinations required 
by existing laws. 

Act of 2larch 2, ISOO {30 Stats., 077). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Arni}^ of the 
United States shall consist of . . . a Corps of Engineers. . . . 

■X- * * 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Corps of Engineers . . . shall con¬ 

sist of the officers and enlisted men now provided by law: Provided, 
That the battalion of engineers, and the officers serving therewith, 
shall constitute a part of the line of the Army. . . . 

* * * 


528 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


Sec. 13. . . . And j^t'ornded also^ That any officer now in the 

Army who was graduated at the head of his class at the United States 
Militaiy Academy and who is not now in the Corps of Engineers, may 
be appointed to the Corps of Engineers with the same grade and date 
of commission that he would have if he had been appointed to the 
Corps of Engineers on graduation; but said commission shall not 
entitle an officer to any back pay or allowance. 

* * * 

March 3, 1899 {30-101 j ).—Government Printing Office to be erected under super¬ 
vision of Chief of Engineers. Appropriation for the repair of the house in which 
Abraham Lincoln died, to be expended under the direction of the Chief of Engineers. 

March 3, 1899 {30-1131). —Boards of engineer officers to report upon respective 
routes from Miami, Fla., to the sea; to report on channel through southwest pass of 
the Mississippi River; to investigate proposed improvement of Yaquina Bay, Oregon; 
to examine project of improvement of Delaware River from Trenton to its mouth; to 
reexamine channel through Sabine Lake; to examine the Arkansas River with a view 
to its improvement; to survey and estimate cost of improving the Illinois and Des 
Plaines rivers; engineers to make full investigation of the Isthmus of Panama; Chief 
of Engineers, in his annual reports, to state what deterioration has taken place in 
works of river and harbor improvement. 

March 3, 1899 {30-1372). —Authorizes the commission, of which the officer in 
charge of public Iniildings and grounds shall be a member, to erect upon Mount Ver¬ 
non square, in Washington City, a building for the use of the Washington Public 
Library. 

February 9, 1900 {31- .)—Engineer member of deep waterways commission to 

receive difference between his army j^ay and the compensation of the other members 
of the commission. 

June 6 , 1900 {31- ). —Appropriations by this act for emergencies in river and 
harbor works, etc., to be expended under the supervision of the Chief of Engineers; 
no allotment to be made unless recommended by him. 

Board of engineers, heretofore appointed to survey the upper Illinois and lower 
Des Plaines rivers, to report an estimate for channels lo, 12 and 14 feet deep through 
proposed route including connection at Lockport with the sanitary and ship canal; to 
report also the cost for the improvement of the lower Illinois River for channels of 
similar depths. 

An engineer officer to be member of a board to make plans and estimates for 
improvement of a harbor at the island of Guam. 

June 6, 1900 {31- ).—Chief of Engineers to have the employment of all persons 
connected with the plans for extending the Executive iNIansion; to make an examina¬ 
tion of plans for park improvements in AVashington City; road extensions and 
improvements, etc., in Yellowstone National Park to be made under a general plan 
approved by the Chief of Engineers. 

Improvement of the Missouri River from its mouth to Sioux City, Iowa, to be done 
according to plans, etc., of the Missouri River Commission, and approved by the 
Chief of Engineers. 

Act of February 1901 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of . . . a Corps of Engineers, . . . 
* * * 

^ Sec. 11. That the enlisted force of the Corps of Engineers shall con¬ 
sist of one band and three battalions of engineers. The engineers 
band shall be organized as now provided hy law for bands of infantry 
regiments. P]ach battalion of engineers shall consist of one sergeant- 
major, one quartermaster-sergeant, and four companies. Each com¬ 
pany of engineers shall consist of one first sergeant, one quartermaster- 
sergeant, with the rank, pay, and allowances of sergeant, eight 


THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 


529 


sergeants, ten corporals, two musicians, two cooks, thirty-eight first- 
class and thirty-eight second-class privates: Provided^ That the Presi¬ 
dent may, in his discretion, increase the number of sergeants in any 
company of engineers to twelve, the number of corporals to eighteen, 
the number of first-class privates to sixty-four, and the number of 
second-class privates to sixty-four, but the total number of enlisted 
men authorized for the whole Army shall not, at any time, be exceeded: 
And provided^ That officers detailed from the Corps of Engineers to 
serve as battalion adjutants and battalion quartermasters and commis¬ 
saries shall, while so serving, receive the pay and allowances herein 
authorized for battalion staff officers of infantry regiments. 

* * * 

Sec. 22. That the Corps of Engineers shall consist of one Chief of 
Engineers with the rank of brigadier-general, seven colonels, four¬ 
teen lieutenant-colonels, twenty-eight majors, forty captains, forty 
first lieutenants, and thirty second lieutenants. The enlisted force 
provided in section eleven of this act and the officers serving there¬ 
with shall constitute a part of the line of the Army: Provided^ That 
the Chief of Engineers shall be selected as now provided by law, and 
hereafter vacancies in the Corps of Engineers in all other grades above 
that of second lieutenant shall be tilled, as far as possible, by promo¬ 
tion according to seniority from the Corps of Engineers: And pro¬ 
vided cdso^ That vacancies remaining in the grades of first and second 
lieutenant may be filled by transfer of officers of the Regular Army, 
subject to such professional examination as may be approved by the 
Secretary of War. Vacancies in the grade of second lieutenant not 
filled by transfer shall be left for future promotions from the Corps 
of Cadets at the United States Military Academy. 

* * * 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time oxceeds the number authorized 
by law in an}" grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

S. Doc. 229-34 






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THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


May 27,1775, Congress appointed a committee to consider ways and 
means to supply tlie colonies with ammunition and military stores, and 
the British Government having prohibited the exportation of arms 
and ammunition to any of the plantations the Congress authorized the 
exportation of produce in all vessels importing munitions of war. 

while, July 16, 1776, a Commissioner of Artillery Stores was 
appointed (April 11, 1777, styled Commissioner-General of Military 
Stores) the business of procuring arms and ammunition was conducted 
by a secret committee and the Board of War. 

The act of April 2, 1791, authorized the President to appoint an offi¬ 
cer whose dut}^ under the Department of War, was to superintend the 
receiving, safe-keepipg, and distribution of militaiy stores. 

The Ordnance Department was first established under the act of May 
11,1812. It was not provided for in the reduction of the Army March 
3,1815; but the act of April 21, 1816, provided that it be continued as 
organized under the act of February 8,1815. 

Bv the act of March 2,1821, the Ordnance Department, as an independ¬ 
ent bureau, was abolished and merged in the artillery. The President 
w^as authorized to select such artillery officers as might be necessary to 
perform ordnance duties, and to each regiment of that arm one super 
numerary captain was attached for ordnance duty. The provision of 
that law making the artillery officers subject only to the orders of the 
War Department while on ordnance duty was almost tantamount to 
preserving the independence of the bureau, and must be regarded as a 
manifestation by Congress of a want of confidence in the success of the 
scheme. The law was passed in the interests of economy, simplicity of 
organization, and thoroughness of instruction. Mr. Secretary Calhoun, 
who strongly advocated the measure, said: 

By uniting the three corps of the ordnance, light artillery, and artillery in one, 
appointing one general staff at the head of it, and making its officers pass in rotation 
through the three services, the organization of the Army will be rendered more 
simple and the instruction of the officers much more complete. 

Experience, however, proved that neither interest was at all sub-, 
served. After eleven years’ trial the experiment proved a failure, and 
was so acknowledged by the ablest generals of the Army and the most 
distinguished public men of the country, including Mr. Calhoun himself. 
Accordingly the Department was reorganized on an independent footing 
by the act of April 5,1832. 

Commissary of Artillery Stores. 

Aug. 17,1775.—Mr. Ezekiel Cheever. 

July 16,1776.—Benjamin Flower, esq. (Pennsylvania), for the flying camp. 

Jan. 18,1777.—Maj. Samuel French. 


533 



534 LEGISLATIVE IIISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 


Feb. 1,1777.—Mr. St. George Peale, for Maryland. 

Feb. 1,1777.—Maj. Jonathan Gostelow. 

Feb. 5,1777.—Maj. Joseph Watkins. 

Mar. 8,1777.—Maj. Charles Liikens. 

Sept. 17,1782.—Kichard Frothingham, for the main army. 

Inspector-General of Ordnance and Military Manufactories. 

Aug. 11,1777.—Mons. du Coudray (France). 

Commissary-General of Military Stores. 

July 16,1776.—Benjamin Flower, esq. (Pennsylvania). 

July 12,1781.—Samuel Hodgdon (Pennsylvania). 

Commissary-General of Ordnance. 

July 2,1812.—Col. Decius Wadsworth (Connecticut). 

Chief of Ordnance. 

Feb. 9,1815.—Lieut. Col. (Col. May 30, 1832) George Bomford (New York). 

Mar. 25,1848.—Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen. May 30, 1848) George Talcott (New York). 
July 10,1851.—Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen. Mar. 13,1865) Henry K. Craig (Pennsylvania). 
Aug. 3,1861.—Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen. Mar. 13, 1865) James W. Ripley (Con¬ 
necticut). 

Sept. 15,1863.—Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen. Mar. 13,1865) George D. Ramsey (District 
of Columbia). 

Sept. 12,1864.—Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen. Mar. 13, 1865) Alexander B. Dyer (Mis¬ 
souri) . 

June 23,1874.—Brig. Gen. Stephen V. Benet (Florida). 

Jan. 23,1891.—Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Flagler (New York). 

Apr. 5,1899.—Brig. Gen. Adelbert R. Buffington (Virginia). 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

May 27, 1775. 

Upon motion, agreed, that Mr. Washington, Mr. Schuyler, Mr. 
Mifflin, Mr. Deane, Mr. Morris, and Mr. S. Adams be a committee to 
consider on wa 3 ’s and means to supply these colonies with ammunition 
and military stores. 


June 10, 1775. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several towns and districts 
in the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, and the eastern 
division of New Jersey, to collect all the saltpetre and brimstone of 
their several towns and districts, and transmit the same, with all pos¬ 
sible dispatch, to the provincial convention at New York. ' 

That it be recommended to the provincial convention of the colony 
of New York to have the powder mills in that colon}^ put into such a 
condition as immediatelv to manufacture into gunpowder, for the use 
of the continent, whatever materials may be procured in the manner 
above directed. 

That it be recommended to the committees of the western division 
of New Jersev, the colonies of Penns^dvania, lower counties on Dela¬ 
ware and Maryland, that they without delay collect the saltpetre and 
sulphur in their respective colonies, and transmit the same for the 
committee of the city and liberties of Philadelphia, to the end that 
those articles may be immediately manufactured into gunpowder for 
the use of the continent. 

That it be recommended to the conventions and committees of the 
colonies of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina that they 
without delay collect the saltpetre and sulphur in their respective col¬ 
onies, and procure these articles to be manufactured, as soon as pos¬ 
sible, into gunpowder for the use of the continent. 

That it be recommended to the several inhabitants of the United 
Colonies who are possessed of saltpetre and sulphur for their own 
use to dispose of them for the purpose of manufacturing gunpowder. 

That the saltpetre and sulphur collected in consequence of the above 
resolves of Congress be paid for out of the continental fund. 

That Mr. Paine, Mr. Lee, Mr. Franklin, Mr. Schuyler, and Mr. 
Johnson be a committee to devise ways and means to introduce the 
manufacture of saltpetre in these colonies. 

535 



536 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


July 15, 1775. 

Whereas the Governiiieiit of Great Britain hath prohibited the 
exportation of arms and ammunition to ain^ of the plantations, and 
endeavored to prevent other nations from supplying us: 

Resolved-, That for the better furnishing these colonies with the 
necessary means of defending their rights, every vessel importing 
gunpowder, saltpetre, sulphur, provided they bring with the sulphur 
four times ais much saltpetre, brass held pieces, or good muskets hxed 
with bajmnets, within nine months from the date of this resolution, 
shall be permitted to load and export the produce of these colonies to 
the value of such powder and stores aforesaid, the nonexportation 
agreement notwithstanding; and it is recommended to the committees 
of the several provinces to inspect the military stores so imported, 
and to estimate a generous price for the same, according to their good¬ 
ness, and permit the importer of such powder or other military stores 
aforesaid to export the value thereof, and no more, in produce of any 
kind. 

July 19, 1775. 

Resolved, That the appointment of ... a commissary of artil¬ 
lery be left to General Washington. 

July m, 1775. 

Resolved, That the pay of the . . . be . . . 

Commissary of artillerv, thirty dollars per do. [month]. 

July SI, 1775. 

On motion made, resolved, that Mr. Langdon, Mr. J. Adams, Mr. 
Hopkins, Mr. Deane, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Crane, Doctor Franklin, Mr. 
Rodney, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Henry, Mr. Hewes, Mr. Gadsden, and Air. 
Hall be a committee, in the recess of Congress, to make enquiry in all 
the colonies after virgin lead and leaden ores, and the best methods of 
collecting, smelting, and refining it. 

August 17, 1775. —“Mr. Ezekiel Cheever is appointed commissary of artillery 
stores.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

September H, 1775. 

Ordered, That the delegates for Pennsylvania prepare and lay before 
the Congress to-morrow an account of the powder belonging to the 
United Colonies received, and how it is disposed of; also an account 
of all the powder now in this city. 

September 18, 1775. 

Resolved, That a secret committee be appointed to contract for the 
importation and delivery of any quantity of gunpowder, not exceed¬ 
ing five hundred tons. 

That in case such a quantity of gunpowder can not be procured, to 
contract for the importation of so much saltpetre, with a proportion¬ 
ate quantity of sulphur, as with the powder procured will make five 
hundred tons. 


THE ORDNANCE ])EPARTMENT. 


537 


T-hat the said comiuittee be empowered to eontraet for the importa¬ 
tion of forty brass field pieces (six-pounders), for 10,000 stands of arms, 
and 20,000 good plain double bridle musket locks. 

* * * 

That the said committee consist of nine members, any five of whom 
to be a quorum. 

The members chosen: Mr. Willing, Mr. Franklin, Mr. Livingston, 
Mr. Alsop, Mr. Deane, Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Langdon, Mr. McKean, 
and Mr. Ward. 

October 5, 1776. 

Resolved., That a letter be sent to General Washington to inform 
him that Congress, having received certain intelligence of the sailing 
of two north-country-built brigs, of no force, from England on the 
11th of August last, loaded with arms, powder, and other stores, for 
Quebec, without convoy, which it being of importance to intercept, 
desire that he apply to the council of Massachusetts Bay for the two 
armed vessels in their service, and despatch the same, with a sufficient 
number of people, stores, etc., particularly a number of oars, in order, 
if possible, to intercept the said two brigs and their cargoes and secure 
the same for the use of the continent; also any other transports laden 
with ammunition . . . for the use of the ministerial army or navy 

in America, and secure them in the most convenient places for the 
purpose above mentioned. . . . 


November 1775. 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the several assemblies or con¬ 
ventions of the colonies, respectively, to set and keep their gunsmiths 
at work to manufacture good firelocks, with bayonets; each firelock 
to be made with a good bridle lock, three-quarters of an inch bore, 
and of good substance at the breech, the barrel to be three feet eight 
inches in length, the bayonet to be eighteen inches in the blade, with 
a steel ramrod, the upper loop thereof to be trumpet mouthed; that 
the price to be given be fixed by the assembly or convention or com¬ 
mittee of safet}^ of each colony, and that until a sufficient quantiW of 
good arms can be manufactured they import as many as are wanted 
b}" all the means in their power. 

Resolved., That the good arms of such soldiers as leave the service 
be retained for the use of the new Army, on a valuation made of them. 

November 5, 1775. 

Resolved^ That the secret committee appointed to contract for the 
importation of arms, ammunition, etc., be empowered to export to the 
foreign West Indies, on account and risque of the continent, as much 
provision or an}^ other produce (except horned cattle, sheep, hogs, and 
poultry) as they may deem necessary for the importation of arms, 
ammunition, sulphur, and saltpetre. 

November 8, 1775 .—The committee appointed to confer with General Schuyler was 
instructed to advise the general to purchase the arms of sick officers and soldiers for 
the use of those who had none or bad ones. 

November 10, 1775 .—The assemblies, conventions, and committees of safety of the 
thirteen united colonies requested to appoint persons in each colony to employ and 


538 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


set to work as many persons as they may think proper, to work up such earth as is 
fit for making saltjietre and collect all such earth and composition of materials as are 
suitable to produce saltpetre. 

November 11, i775.—Congress recommended to such proprietors of tobacco ware- 
houses-and tobacco houses in Virginia and Maryland as can not speedily have the 
earth of the floors of their houses worked for saltpetre to cause those floors to be 
dug up and left fine, loose, and light, at least six inches deep, suffering the tobacco 
stalks and trashy leaves to be spread thereon. 

November 18,1775 .—“ The Commissary-General to order all the horns of the bullocks 
that are killed for the use of the Army to be saved and sent to the Quartermaster- 
General, who is also to provide as many as he can get, and have the w hole made 
into good powder horns for the use of the troops.’’ {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge.) 

November W., 1775. 

Resolved.^ That the secret committee be empowered to contract for 
the importation of an hundred tons of lead. 

January 1776. 

Resolved., That the following goods and stores ought to be imported 
as soon as possible for the use of the United Colonies, viz: 

* * * 


20,000 stand of arms. 

300 tons of lead. 

1,000,000 of flints. 

1,500 boxes of tin, and wire properly sorted for it. 

* * * 

500 sheets of copper of different sorts. 

Resolved., That the secret committee be empowered and directed to 
pursue the most effectual measures for importing the foregoing articles. 

January 8, 1776. 

Information being given to Congress that about fifty-seven tons of 
saltpetre were arrived at Philadelphia, and about 15 tons of powder at 
New York, for sale: 

Resolved., That the secret committee be directed to treat for the 
purchase of the saltpetre, and enquire how it may be most speedily 
manufactured into powder, and report to Congress. 

January 15^ 1776. 

Resolved^ That a committee of five be appointed to make an estimate 
of the number of cannon that may be wanted for the defense of the 
United Colonies and to devise ways and means for procuring them, 
and that it be an instruction to said committee to enquire what size 
cannon can be cast in these Colonies. 

The members chosen: Mr. Wisner, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Rogers, Mr. 
Allen, and Mr. Paine. 

January 21, 1776 .—“The colonel or commanding officer of each regiment is forth¬ 
with to send out one or tw^o prudent and sensible officers to buy up such arms as are 
wanted for his regiment. These officers to be also good judges of arms, and they are 
directed to purchase none but such as are proper and in the best repair, and if pos¬ 
sible to get them with bayonets, but not to refuse a good firelock without.” ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, Cambridge .) 


THE OEDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


589 


January 28,1776. —“The colonels or commanding officers of regiments are requested 
to buy any good arms which the militia may voluntarily incline to sell.” (Orders, 
General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

February 3, 1776. —“All arms purchased by the officers sent upon that duty are to 
be first delivered to Mr. Commissary Cheever for inspection, who is to report their 
number and goodness to the general before they are delivered out of his store.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

Fehniwry 5, 1776. 


Resolved.^ . . . That the appointments by General Schuyler of 
Mr. Hubbard Brown to be conductor of artillery, . . . Mr. Peter 

Schuyler to take charge of the arms, . . . be confirmed; and that 

General Schuyler be desired to inform Congress of the proper salaries 
to be annexed to these ofiices. 

Resolved, . . . That it be recommended to the convention or 
committee of safety of New York to prosecute the discovery of the 
lead mine at New Canaan. . . . 

February 20, 1776. 

Resolved, That two hundred and fifty twelve-pounders, sixty nine- 
pounders, and sixty-two four-pounders be purchased for the use of 
these Colonies; 

That the committee on ways and means of procuring cannon be 
empowered to purchase or contract for making the same; 

That a new member be added to the committee. 

The member chosen: Mr. W. Livingston. 


February 23, 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to contract for the 
making of muskets and bayonets for the use of the United Colonies, 
and to consider of farther ways and means of promoting and encourag¬ 
ing the manufacture of firearms in all parts of the United Colonies. 

The members chosen: Mr. Paine, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Huntington, Mr. 
Lee, and Mr. L. Morris. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the secret committee be empowered, for the purpose 
of procuring arms and ammunition, to export the produce of these 
Colonies, equal to the amount of that by them exported in two vessels 
lately taken by the enemy. 

* * * 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several assemblies, con¬ 
ventions, councils, or committees of safety, and committees of corre¬ 
spondence and inspection in the United Colonies to exert themselves 
in devising farther ways and means of promoting and encouraging the 
manufacture of saltpetre and of introducing that manufacture into 
private families. 

That it be recommended to the assemblies and conventions in the 
United Colonies that they immediately establish public works in each 
and every county in their respective colonies, at the expense of such 
colonies, for the manufacture of saltpetre, and appoint committees of 
their own members immediately to set up such manufactures; 


540 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That it be recommended to the assemblies and conventions, councils, 
or committees of safety of every colony forthwith to erect powder 
mills in their respective colonies, and appoint committees to build such 
mills and procure pei-sons well skilled in the manufacture of powder, 
at the expense of such colonies; 

That a committee of this Congress, to consist of one member from 
each colony, be appointed to consider of further ways and means of 
promoting and encouraging the manufactures of saltpetre, sulphur, 
and gunpowder in these colonies, and to correspond with the several 
assemblies and conventions and councils or committees of safety in 
the several colonies, that Congress may be from time to time truly 
informed of the progress made in these manufactures. 

The members chosen: Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Paine, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. 
Huntington, Mr. L. Morris, Mr. Sergeant, Mr. Humphreys, Mr. Read, 
Mr. Paca, Mr. Braxton, Mr. Hewes, Mr. E. Rutledge, and Mr. Bullock. 

March 3, 1776 .—“The Quartermaster-General may draw the carbines out of the 
commissary’s stores and put them into the hands of the carpenters or such others 
as he shall think will use them to the best advantage, taking care to return them 
when called for. All arms in store fit for use may be delivered out to the Adjutant- 
General’s order.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

April IS., 1776. 

Resolmd^ That the committee for casting cannon be directed to 
contract for the casting of forty howitzers, with a sufficient quantity 
of shells. 

April 19, 1776. 

Resolved, That an immediate supply of arms ... be furnished 
for the troops in Virginia, and that proper persons be appointed to 
procure them, subject to the order of Congress already entered into. 

May U, 1776. 

Resolved, That, as a number of arms, fit for use, may be bought from 
the owners, who may incline to sell them, General Washington be 
directed to employ such an agent as he has proposed to go into the 
colonies for that purpose. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be directed to deliver to Colonel 
Jacob Ford, jr., three tons of saltpetre to be by him manufactured 
intc gunpowder for the use of the United Colonies, on the same terms 
as others have agreed to manufacture it. 

* * * 

That the said committee be directed to deliver to Colonel Bird 200 
lbs. of powder to prove the cannon he is making for the United Colo¬ 
nies. 

Resolved, That the committee appointed to contract for the making 
of cannon be directed to employ proper persons to attend and see the 
cannon proved. 

May 18, 1776. 

Resolved, That it [letter from Mr. Langdon] be referred to the com¬ 
mittee of secret correspondence and that the said committee be directed 
to apply to the marine committee for the use of one or more of the 
continental fieet; and that they send the same to the French West 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 541 

India Islands, in order to procure, if possible, a number of muskets, 
not exceeding 10,000. 

May 23, 1776 .—From a resolve of this date, it appears that a continental factory 
of firearms existed at Lancaster, Pa., and a gunlock factory at Trenton, N. J. 


2fay ’25, 1776. 

Resolved, That the arms, ammunition, and military stores taken by 
the armed schooner Rrcmklln, or any other of the armed vessels in 
the pay of the United Colonies, be at the disposal of the general or 
Commander in Chief of the American forces. 

Junes, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the general assembly of the colony of 

Massachusetts Bay, the governor and assembly of the colony of Con¬ 
necticut, the conventions of New York and New Jersey, and the sev¬ 
eral conventions of such other of the United Colonies, in which there 
are any lead mines, be requested to transmit to Congress, with all con¬ 
venient dispatch, the state and condition of the lead mines in their 
respective colonies, and use the most speedy means to procure their 
being wrought to effect. 

* * * 

Resolved, . . . That the Commander in Chief be authorized to 
form and fix such magazines of . . . military stores as he may 

judge necessary. 

June 17, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the committee appointed to contract for 
cannon be directed to procure a number of brass or iron field pieces, 
to be made or purchased immediately. 

June 25, 1776. 

Resolved, That the committee appointed to contract for making 
muskets be directed to consider the propriety of granting a bounty, 
or other means, for encouraging the making of muskets. 

July 4, 1776. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be empowered to employ such a 
number of persons as they shall find necessary to manufacture flints 
for the Continent; and, for this purpose, to apply to the respective 
assemblies, conventions, and councils, or committee of safety of the 
United American States, or committees of inspection of the counties 
and towns thereunto belonging, for the names and places of abode of 
persons skilled in the manufactory aforesaid, and of the places in their 
respective States where the best flint stones are to be obtained, with 
samples of the same. 

July 5, 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. John Coburn, who has acted as an assistant con¬ 
ductor of military stores in Canada, and has produced certificates of 
his having done his duty in that station, be allowed lieutenant’s pay 
from the first day of March to the first day of June last. 


542 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 16, 1776. 

The Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of military 
stores for the Hying camp; and the ballots being taken, 

Benjamin Flower, esq., was elected. 

July 19, 1776. 

Resolved, That the committee appointed to contract for the making 
cannon be empowered to contract with Messrs. Hughes for one thou¬ 
sand tons of cannon on the terms by them proposed. 

• August 21, 1776. 

Resolved, That the cannon committee be directed to contract for the 
immediate casting of six 6-pounders, six 12-pounders, four 8-inch 
howitzers, four 6-inch howitzers, and 6 cohorn mortars, to be made of 
brass, if a sufficient quantity of that metal can be procured; if not, to 
be cast of iron, and sent as soon as possible to General Gates for the 
use of the northern army, and that the said committee provide also 
carriages and everything necessary to complete the said artillery for 
service. 

August 28, 1776. 

Resolved, That there be" an inspector or inspectors sufficiently quali¬ 
fied to judge the goodness of gunpowder, who shall examine every 
cask of gunpowder manufactured or to be purchased on account of the 
United States, by the most approved method of ascertaining the quality 
of gunpowder; that said inspector or inspectors to receive one-eighth 
part of a dollar for every hundredweight of powder he or they shall 
so examine; 

That no gunpowder be received into the public magazine for the use 
of the United States of America, or delivered from the powder mills 
fort hat purpose, but such as has been approved by the public inspector 
as to its quickness in firing, strength, diyness, and other necessary 
qualities; 

That the inspector mark each cask approved with the letters U. S. A., 
and such other marks as are necessaiy to distinguish the several sorts 
of powder; 

That every maker of gunpowder mark every cask in which he shall 
pack his gunpowder with the first letters of his name; 

That gunpowder be put into no casks but such as are well seasoned 
and dry; 

That it be recommended to the legislatures of the several States of 
America to cause suitable inspectors to be appointed to examine and 
determine the quality of all gunpowder manufactured within their 
jurisdiction, and that no person be allowed to vend any gunpowder 
manufactured in any of the States of America unless the same, in the 
judgment of such inspector, shall be of sufficient quality, and to make 
such laws for executing this or any other regulations for promoting 
the manufacture of good gunpowder as to them may seem most coiT- 
venient. 

Congress then proceeded to the election of an inspector of gunpowder; 
and, the ballots being taken, 

Robert Towers was chosen. 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT 


543 


Se2}temhe)' 18, 1776. 

* * 

Ordered, That the secret committee furnish the said committee 
[appointed to contract for casting cannon] with two barrels of powder 
tor proving cannon. 

Se2)teiribe7' 20, 1776. 

Ordered, that Mr. Paine write to Governor Trumbull respecting the 
practicabilit}^ of enlarging the furnace at Salisbury for casting heavy 
cannon there, and request his opinion concerning the same. 


Septemhei^ 27, 1776. 

Ordered, That the secret committee deliver to the board of war the 
care and custody of all arms, ammunition, and other warlike stores 
now under their care or that may hereafter be imported or purchased 
by them for account of the United States of America. 

Oeioher 21, 1776. 

The secret committee having informed Congress that a vessel was 
arrived in New Hampshire with a cargo on account of the Continent, 
among which was a quantity of flints, it was thereon 

Eesolved, That the secret committee be directed to order 30,000 of 
the said flints to General Schuyler, for the use of the army in the 
Northern Department, and the remainder to General Washington, for 
the use of the army under his immediate command. 

October 22, 1776. 

The secret committee reported that the cargo lately arrived at 
Portsmouth in the brig Marquis of Kildare, Captain Palmer, consists 
of the following articles, viz, . . . 250 small arms, 100,000 flints, 

. and 10 tons of lead; whereupon. 

Resolved, . . . That 60,000 flints be sent to General Washington; 

That 38,000 flints, 150 small arms, . . . and 8 tons of lead be 

sent to the northern army, under General Schu} ler and General Gates. 

November Jf, 1776. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several assemblies or con¬ 
ventions of the colonies, respectively, to set and keep their gunsmiths 
at work to manufacture good firelocks, with bayonets, each firelock 
be made with a good bridle lock, three-quarters of an inch bore, and 
of good substance at the breech, the barrel to be three feet 8 inches in 
length, the bayonet to be 18 inches in the blade, with a steel ramrod, 
the upper loop thereof to be trumpet-mouthed; that the price to be 
given to be fixed by the assembly or convention or committee of each 
Colony, and that until a sufficient quantity of good arms can be manu¬ 
factured they import as many as are wanted by all the means in their 
power. 


544 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolved^ That the good arms of such soldiers as leave the service 
be retained for the use of the new army, on a valuation made of them. 

Novemher 19^ 177.6. 

Resolmd., That 100 three-pounders, 50 six-pounders, 50 twelve- 
pounders, 13 eighteen-pounders, and 13 twenty-four-pounders, all of 
brass, be immediately provided as field artillery for the use of the 
armies of the United States; 

That the secret committee be directed to take the most effectual meas¬ 
ures for procuring the said brass artillery; that the said committee 
confer with the committee for procuring cannon and consult with them 
how many they can provide; 

That this matter be kept as secret as the nature of the business will 
admit. 

Resolved., . . . That some proper person be appointed to act in 

the capacity of armorer to assist the commissary of [military] stores 
in inspecting, superintending repairs, and taking care of all the Conti¬ 
nental arms in the public magazine at Philadelphia. 

November 19,1776. —Congress desired Pennsylvania and the States south to lay up 
military stores, ammunition, etc. 

Novernher 26,1776. 

Resolved, That the cannon committee be directed to enquire what 
quantity of cannon are on board the prize ship that arrived yesterday 
in the port of Philadelphia, and if they are fit for field artillery to take 
measures to have them mounted on proper carriages and sent to 
General Washington. 

Novemher 28,1776. 

Resolved, That a letter be sent to Governor Trumbull, desiring him 
to order 20 cannon, carrying shot of 18 pounds weight, to be cast at 
Salisbury furnace; . . . 

That skillful persons be sent to examine the Salisbury and Mr. 
Livingston’s founderies; and if it be found that a sufficient'^n urn her of 
cannon may be cast there, that proper artificers be forthwith employed 
in the work, an agreement being first made with Governor Trumbull 
and Mr. Livingston for that purpose. 

November 28, 1776. —A plan for an artillery yard was referred to a committee com¬ 
posed of Messrs. R. H. Lee, Paine, and Middleton. 

November 29,1776. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be directed to provide, as soon 
as may be, arms . . . for 3,000 horse. 

iJecemher 2, 1776. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the governor and council of 
Virginia to take the most effectual measures for purchasing and col¬ 
lecting, for Continental use, all the copper and other materials fit for 
casting brass field artillery that can be got in that State, and the Con¬ 
gress will defray the cost and expense of the same. 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


545 


December 12, 1776 .—Owing to the approach of the enemy, Congress ordered that 
the arms and ammunition in and near Philadelphia be put under control of General 
Putnam, who was charged with the defense of the city. 

Decmiber ^2^, 1776. 

Resolved^ That two other magazines of ammunition, in addition to 
that agreed on the 21st, be formed, one in the Eastern States and one 
in the Southern States. 

Ordered., That the Delegates of the Eastern States confer together, 
and also those of the Southern States, and fix upon proper places, and 
report to Congress on Thursday next. 

December SO., 1776. 

Resolved., That General Schuyler, or the commanding officer of the 
northern army, be directed to cause an elaborately to be erected at 
such place as he shall judge most convenient, to lix all the necessary 
ammunition for the ensuing campaign. 

January 1777. 

Resolved^ That Messrs. Morris, Clymer, and Walton be directed, 
with all possible dispatch, to procure in the State of Pennsylvania or 
New Jersey, and send to Albany, three tons of steel and live tons of 
nail rods for the use of the Army in the Northern Department. 

January 22, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That Thomas Butler be appointed public armorer, 

and that lie immediately repair to the city of Philadelphia to superin¬ 
tend the said business agreeably to the resolve of the 19th of November; 

That he be allowed 3 dollars a day for his pay and subsistence. 

January 2^, 1777. 

Resolved, That the pay of the commissary of military stores, to be 
appointed to take charge and care of the Continental stores in Mary¬ 
land, be 40 dollars per month. 

February 1, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of military stores 
in Maryland; and the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Saint George Peale was elected. 

Fehmiary U, 1777. 

Resolved, That Mr. R. T. Paine be empowered and directed to con¬ 
tract with Colonel Gridley for forty 8-inch iron howitzers, upon terms 
that he shall judge reasonable. . . . 

February 2Jf., 1777. 

Resolved, That the several States be requested to take the most effec¬ 
tual steps for immediately collecting from the inhabitants not in actual 
service all Continental arms and give notice of the number they shall 
collect to General Washington; 

S. Doc. 229-35 


546 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


That all arms and accoutrements belonging to the United States be 
stamped or marked with the words United States; all arms already 
made to be stamped upon such parts as will receive the impression, and 
those hereafter to be manufactured to be stamped with the said words 
on every part composing the stand, and all arms and accoutrements so 
stamped or marked shall be taken whenever found for the use of the 
States, except they shall be in the hands of those actually in Conti¬ 
nental service; 

That it be recommended to the legislatures of the several States to 
enact proper laws for the punishment of those who shall unlawfullj^ 
take, secrete, refuse, or neglect to deliver any Continental arms or 
accoutrements which they may have in their possession. 

3£arch H, 1777. 

Resolved^ That the pay of Mr. Nathaniel Barber, jr., deput}^ com¬ 
missary of artillery in the Eastern Department, be 53 dollars and | 
per month, and three rations a day. 

March m, 1777. 

Resolved.^ That the Board of War be empowered to contract with Mr. 
Wheeler for a number of cannon of the new construction, invented b}^ 
the said Wheeler. 

March 31, 1777. 

Congress having received advice that the ship Mercury of Nantz is 
arrived at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, with a cargo for the United 
States, consisting of 11,987 fusees, 1,000 barrels of powder, 11,000 
gunflints, . 

Ordered, That 5,000 of the arms be delivered to the order of the 
council of Massachusetts Bay, for the purpose of arming the troops 
raised in that State for the Army of the United States; . . . 

Ordered, That 15 tons of the powder be delivered to the order of the 
council of Massachusetts Bay, . . . 

Ordered, That the secret committee deliver the remainder of the 
powder, arms, and flints to the order of the Board of War, . . . 

April 1777. 

Ordered, That a copy of the letter this day received from General 
Washington be sent to the council of Penns\dvania and to the gov¬ 
ernors of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, and that Governor 
Johnson, of Mainland be requested to give orders for the immediate 
removal of the powder and military stores at Annapolis to the town of 
Frederick, in Maryland, and the powder and military stores at Balti¬ 
more to the town of Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, and take measures to 
have this done with all possible expedition. 

April 9, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Commissary-General of Military Stores be 
directed immediately to furnish as many rifles, not exceeding 1,000, 
to be sent to Fort Pitt, as he can procure, . . . 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


547 


Resolved, That it be recommended to the good people of the States 
to furnish the Commissary-General of Military Stores with all such 
articles he may want for the use of the Army, at a reasonable price; 
and^ that the several legislatures or executive powers of the States be 
desired to exempt from military duty all persons in the militia who 
are or shall be employed in casting shot and manufacturing military 
stores of every species while such persons shall be employed in the said 
service. 

April 11, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That Colonel Flower, Commissary-General of 

Military Stores, be empowered to purchase 200 rifles and their accou¬ 
trements, to be'sent to Fort Pitt. 

April U, 1777. 

Resolved, That the resolution passed the 27th [24th] of December 
last, for erecting a magazine and laboratory in the town of Brookfield, 
in the State of Massachusetts Bay, be repealed; and that, instead 
thereof, a magazine suflicient to contain 10,000 stand of arms and 200 
tons of gunpowder, and laboratory adjacent thereto, be erected in 
Springfield, in the said State. 

May 3, 1777. 

Resolved, That John Belton be authorized and appointed to super¬ 
intend and direct the making or altering 100 muskets on the construc¬ 
tion exhibited by him and called “the new improved gun,” and that 
he receive a reasonable compensation for his trouble and be allowea 
all just and necessary expenses. 

June W, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the Board of War may order the commissary 
of hides to deliver to the commissary of military stores so much of the 
leather in his hands as may be necessary for making accoutrements, 
etc., for the Army ... 

That the secret committee . . . import from the Spanish West 

Indies such a quantity of dried hides as they may judge necessary 
for . . . public uses. 

July 23, 1777. 

Resolved, That the committee appointed to contract for the casting 
of cannon be directed to deliver to the Board of War and Ordnance all 
the contracts they have made, . . . and that they be discharged 

from proceeding farther in that business; and that the Board of War 
and Ordnance be vested with the powers granted to the aforesaid com¬ 
mittee, and that they be directed to attend to the execution of the said 
contracts, and to take such measures as they shall judge proper and 
effectual for procuring a proper supply of cannon for the land . . . 

service . . . 

July 28, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be empowered to purchase such 
powder and military stores offered for sale in any of these States as 
they may judge necessary for the public service. 


548 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


August 8, 1777. 

It having been represented to Congress that Darby Lux, Anson 
Butler, Nicholas Haite, Thomas James, and Nathaniel Owings, of 
Baltimore County, in the State of Maryland, gentlemen, have in com¬ 
pany undertaken to open a lead mine and to erect works for smelting 
the ore, and that the inhabitants in the neighborhood have refused to 
permit them to proceed in the prosecution of their design without 
credentials from Congress that they are friends to the United States, 
and it appearing to Congress, by the representation of the governor 
and delegates of Maryland, that the said gentlemen are faithful friends 
to the American cause, 

Resolmd., That it be recommended to the inhabitants in the neigh¬ 
borhood of the lead mine aforesaid to permit the same to be worked 
by the above gentlemen, and to give them every encouragement in the 
prosecution of a work of such public utility and from which a supply 
of lead may be drawn for the service of thc'Se States. 


August 11^ 1777. 

R(isolved^ That Mons. du Coudray be appointed inspector-general of 
ordnance and militar}^ manufactories, with the rank of major-general. 

August 26, 1777. 

Resolved, That the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania be 
requested to order all the leaden spouts in Philadelphia to be taken 
down for the use of the laboratorv. 

* * * 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the supreme executive council 
of the State of Pennsylvania to cause a diligent search to be made in 
the houses of all the inhabitants of the city of Philadelphia, who have 
not manifested their attachment to the American cause, for firearms, 
swords, and bayonets; that the owners of the arms so found be paid 
for them at an appraised value, and that they be delivered to such of 
the militia of the State of Pennsylvania who are at present unarmed 
and have been called into the field. 

September 16^ 1777. —The Commissary-General of Military Stores was ordered to 
remove to Bethlehem, or some other place of safety, the "stores belonging to his 
department ordered to, or deposited in, Trenton, N. J. 

September 18, 1777. —Colonel Flower submitted a list of all the oflBcers, etc., in the 
department of the Commissary-General of Military Stores, and Congress granted 
them commissions. 


Septemher 27, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to cooperate with 
General Washington in devising and carrying into execution effectual 
measures for supplying the Army with firearms . . . and other 

necessaries, and that in executing this business these collections be con¬ 
fined, as much as circumstances will admit, to persons of dissatisfied 
and equivocal characters. 

October 6, 1777.— Buckshot are to be put into all the cartridges which shall here¬ 
after be made.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Perkicmy.) 


THE ORDHANCE DEPARTMENT. 
October 30,1777. 


549 


Besolved, That the government of the State of Connecticut he 
requested to permit the workmen at Salisbury iron works to cast 
mortars for continental use of such calibres and in such numbers as 
shall be directed by Brigadier-General Knox, and that he be informed 
of this resolution, and desired to write to Governor Trumbull on the 
subject. 

That a letter be written by the Board of War to the government of 
the fetate of New York, representing, in the strongest terms, the great 
want of lead and the absolute necessity there is for providing season¬ 
able resources of that article; that it be therefore earnestly recom¬ 
mended to the said government forthwith to take measures for having 
the lead mines in that State worked; and that, in case a sufficient num¬ 
ber of labourers can not be procured for that purpose, the commissary- 
general of prisoners be directed to furnish a competent number of 
prisoners of war for that end. 

Noneynher 11., 1777. 

Ordered, That commissions be granted to the following persons in 
the department of the Commissary-General of Military Stores, with 
the dates annexed to their respective names, agreeably to the said 
list, viz: 

Of the company to work in the laboratory, enlisted to serve during 
the war as artillerymen: Isaac Cowan, captain, February the 1st, 1777; 
Will. E. Godfrey, captain-lieutenant, March the 1st, 1777; Andrew 
Caldwell, second lieutenant, April the 1st, 1777. 

Of the company of artilleiy artificers, enlisted during the war, to 
be attached to the artillery in the field: Jesse Roe, captain, February 
the 3rd, 1777; Valentine Hoffman, captain-lieutenant, February the 
12th, 1777; Christian Beackly, first lieutenant, February the 3rd, 1777; 
and Will Preston, second lieutenant, April 7,1777. 

Of the companies of artillery artificers, enlisted to serve for one 
year, and ordered to be reenlisted to serve during the war: Nathaniel 
Irish, captain, February 7th, 1777; Thomas Wylie, captain-lieutenant, 
February 17th, 1777; George Norris, first lieutenant, February 8th, 
1777; James Sweiney, second lieutenant, February 22d, 1777; David 
Pancoast, captain, February 10th, 1777; John Jordan, captain-lieuten¬ 
ant, February 17th, 1777; James Gibson, first lieutenant, February 
17th, 1777. 

Jonathan Gostelow, major, commissary of military stores, February 
1st, 1777; Joseph Watkins, major, commissary of ordnance stores, 
February 5th, 1777; Wollory Meng, captain, superintendent of leather 
manufactory, April 1st, 177t; Samuel Sergeant, superintendent of the 

E ublic works at Carlisle, and keeper of all the stores, August, 1777; 
is pay, 60 dollars a month and 4 rations a day. 

Charles Lukens, major, commissary of military stores and paymas¬ 
ter to the commissary-general of military stores in the department 
at Carlisle, March 8th, 1777, his pay 60 dollars a month and 4 rations 
a day. 

Johnson Smith, contractor and procurer of all the lumber and some 
other materials wanted for the public works at Carlisle, July 21st, 1777; 
pay, 60 dollars a mouth and 3 rations a day. 


550 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Cornelius Sweers, assistant commissary of military stores at Phila¬ 
delphia, February 1st, 1777. 

Alexander Power, quartermaster to the corps of artillery artificers 
at Carlisle, July 30th, 1777; same pay and rations as regimental quar¬ 
termaster. 

Samuel French, major, commissary of military stores, January 18th, 
1777, with the Army. 

George Everson, 'captain, deputy commissary of militarj^ stores, 
January 18th, 1777. 

Alexander Henderson, captain, deputy commissary of military stores, 
September 10 th, 1777. 

November 22, 1777. —In view of the difficulty of purchasing any stores at reasonable 
prices, the several States were invited to adopt and enforce a temporary regulation 
of prices. 

December 21, 1777. —“The General congratulates the Army on the arrival of a 
French ship at Portsmouth, with 48 brass cannon (4-pounders, with carriages com¬ 
plete), 19 9-inch mortars, 2,500 9-inch bombs, 2,000 4-pound balls, intrenching tools, 
4,100 stands of arms, a quantity of powder, and 61,051 pounds of sulphur.” {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 


January 15^ 1778. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be authorized to direct Colonel 
Flower to make a contract with Mr. Whitehead Humphreys, on the 
terms of the former agreement, or such other as Colonel Flower shall 
deem equitable, for making a quantity of steel for the suppl}" of the 
continental artificers and works with that necessary article; and as 
the iron made at the Andover works only will with certainty answer 
the purpose of making steel, that Colonel Flower be directed to apply 
to the government of New Jersey to put a proper person in charge of 
these works (the same belonging to persons who adhere to the enemies 
of these States) upon such terms as the government of the State of 
New Jersey shall think proper, and that Colonel Flower contract 
with the said person for such quantity of iron as he shall think the 
service requires. 

Resolved', That a letter be written by the Board of War to the gov¬ 
ernor and council of the State of New Jersey, setting forth the pecul¬ 
iarity of the demand for these works, being the only proper means of 
procuring iron for steel, an article without which the service must 
irreparably suffer, and that the said governor and council be directed 
to take such means as the}^ shall think most proper for putting the 
said works in blast and obtaining a supply of iron without delay. 

Fclrruary J, 1778. 

Resolved, That Captain Isaac Cowan receive monthh^ 25 dollars addi¬ 
tional pay, besides his present appointments, in consideration of his 
teaching the laboratory art to such officers of artillery as shall be sent 
to him for that purpose. 

Ordered, That 2,000 dollars be advanced to Captain Isaac Cowan to 
pay his company of laboratory artillerymen and to recruit the said com¬ 
pany to 100 men, agreeably to the directions of General Washington. 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


551 


Fehruanj 5, 1778. 

Besolved^ That the Board of War and Ordnance be directed to lay 
before Congress an estimate of the expense of erecting and carrying 
on a foundry for brass ordnance, the number of persons necessary to 
conduct the business, and the proper salaries for each. 

Fehruary 11, 1778. 

Resolved, That there shall be one commissary-general of military 
stores, whose business it shall be to receive and deliver all arms, ammu¬ 
nition, and accoutrements of every species and denomination, to pro¬ 
vide and contract for all such articles as may be wanted in this depart¬ 
ment, according to the directions he shall receive from the Board of 
War and Ordnance; to receive and collect returns from all the differ¬ 
ent States where there are any continental arms and stores, draw them 
into one general return, and on the first day of every month deliver 
one to the Board of War and Ordnance. 

In case of vacancy, occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise, 
of any of the commissaries, commissaries’ deputies, or conductors, which 
may happen in any department near to where the Commissary-General 
ma}^ be, he shall have permission to fill such vacancy, pro tempore, 
until it shall be confirmed or disapproved b}^ Congress. 

All money's to be drawn on account of military stores to be, by appli¬ 
cation of the Commissaiy-General or his deputies, to the Board of War 
and Ordnance; and all moneys so drawn to be accounted for by him 
once in every six months to the Board of Treasury or to such auditors 
or commissioners as the said board shall direct. All commissaries, 
deputy commissaries, or conductors who may have money advanced to 
them by the Commissary-General for the use of their several depart¬ 
ments to keep regular accounts and produce vouchers and receipts for 
the sums paid, and account for the same to the Commissary-General 
once every month or as often as called for. 

All continental armourers shall be under the direction of the Board of 
War and Ordnance and of the commissary-general of military stores, 
the armourers to receive from the said commissaiT all arms to be 
repaired, make returns of the state of repairs when demanded, and 
deliver the arms when repaired into his store, the principal armourer or 
armourers at each and every armoury to be accountable for all such arms 
as he or they shall receive until they are repaired and delivered to the 
Commissary-General, his deputies or assistants; and the said Commis¬ 
sary-General shall see that every method is taken by the armourers to 
hasten the repair of the arms; the principal armourers to receive money 
from the Commissary-General for the contingent expenses of their 
departments, and the Commissary-General shall produce their accounts 
and vouchers at the adjustment of his accounts. 

That there be as many deputies, assistants, commissaries, deputy 
commissaries, conductors, and clerks as the exigency of the service shall 
require, to be appointed by the Board of War and Ordnance; and the 
said board are, from time to time, to report all such appointments to 
Congress. 

That the pay of officers in the department of the commissary-general 
of military stores be as follows: 

Commissary-General, 100 dollars per month and six rations a day; 


552 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEBAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 


deputy commissaries-geiieral, of which there shall be one in each mili¬ 
tary division of the States, each 75 dollars per month and live rations 
per day. 

Commissaries, each, 60 dollars per month and 4 rations per day. 


Deputy commissaries, 

50 

do. 

do. 

4 

do. 

Conductors, 

40 

do. 

do. 

2 

do. 

Clerks, 

40 

do. 

do. 

2 

do. 


The Commissary-General shall be allowed forage for two horses; his 
deputies, assistants, commissaries, and conductors to be allowed forage 
for one horse each; and the captains of the artillery artificers, respec¬ 
tively, when duty requires their traveling to collect materials, to have 
forage for one horse. 

That for the future no rank be annexed to the ofiScers in this depart¬ 
ment, except they belong to the regiment of artillery artificers, and 
then their rank only to take place as ofiicers of that corps, the pay also 
which they receive as ofiicers in that regiment to be included in the pay 
herein settled for the officers of the Commissary-General’s department. 

That a return be made to the Board of War and Ordnance once every 
month of all officers employed in the civil branch of ordnance and 
military stores. . 

All commissaries, deputy commissaries, conductors, and clerks who 
shall have the separate charge of any stores are, on the first day of 
every month, to make out an exact return of all cannon and military 
stores of every species and denomination, one copy whereof they shall 
transmit to the Commissary-General, who is to put them into one gen¬ 
eral return, as heretofore directed, and one other copy thereof the said 
commissaries, deputy commissaries, conductors, and clerks, are to send 
to the Board of War and Ordnance. 

All the artillery artificers that are or may be employed at any 
armouries, laboratories, founderies, or militaiy magazines (those 
employed with the army in the field excepted), shall be under the 
immediate direction and subject to the orders and command of the 
Commissary-General, or the officer directed by him to take charge of 
the same. 

The Quartermaster-General, his deputies and assistants, shall give 
the Commissary-General every assistance of teams for the removal of 
public stores, and in case there be no quartermaster in the department 
or place from whence the stores are to be removed, the Commissary- 
General shall have power to procure teams in the way and manner that 
will best promote the public service. 

All officers, artificers, and others in the ordnance and military 
department shall be governed by the Rules and Articles of War, in the 
same manner as other officers in the artillery of the United States. 

The Commissary-General shall give such forms or returns and 
instructions to his deputies, assistant commissaries, conductors, etc., 
as the service and situation of their department shall require; and all 
officers in this department are to attend to such orders and instructions 
as they shall receive from time to time from the Board of War and 
Ordnance or the Commissary-General. 

All regulations incidental to the department, and not enlarging the 
powers and authorities here given, shall be settled and made by the 
Board of War and Ordnance. 

The Board of War and Ordnance shall transmit, from time to time, 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


558 


as the service shall render necessary, transcripts of all returns received 
from the commissary-general of military stores, and also accounts of 
all ordnance and stores under their care or belonging to the United 
States, and the places where the same are deposited, to the commander 
in chief of the armies of the United States, in order that he may make 
such requisitions of supplies for the army under his immediate com¬ 
mand or for the separate departments as he shall think proper, and 
give such advice and directions as to the disposition of them as circum¬ 
stances may from time to time require. 

The commanding officer of artillery, for the time being, in the 
Grand Army, with the chief engineer, commissary of artillery, and 
eldest colonel of artillery, in camp or such of them as are present with 
the Army, shall be a subordinate board of ordnance, under the direc¬ 
tion of the commander in chief or the Board of War and Ordnance, for 
transacting all business of the Ordnance Department necessary to be 
done in the held, and to have the care of all ordnance and stores at 
camp; and in case of sudden exigency the commissary-general of mili¬ 
tary stores shall be obliged to obey their directions as to any supplies 
wanted by the Army out of the stores not in camp, and the said board 
shall correspond with and report their proceedings to the Board of 
War and Ordnance, from whom they are to receive any necessary 
assistance. 

Resolved^ That the pay of Col. Benjamin Flower’s corps of artillery 
artiheers shall be, for all those who engage to serve the United States 
as such for three years, or during the war, |20 a month, besides the 
same bounty, clothing, and every other benefit allowed by Congress 
to the continental artillery; the officers the same pay of others of equal 
rank in the continental artilleiy; and that Colonel Flower augment the 
four companies ordered to be raised in January last, add other com¬ 
panies to the said regiment, and, if necessary, increase the pay of the 
officers and men in the same, agreeable to such orders as have been 
given for that purpose by General Washington, and that he be required 
forthwith to transmit a copy of such orders to Congress. 

That if the exigency of the service makes it necessary to employ, 
at any time or place, more artificers than the commissary may have 
enlisted or can enlist, then he, his deputies or assistants, may engage 
them, for the time of such necessity, on the most reasonable terms 
possible, with the approbation of the Board of War and Ordnance. 

Resolved^ That Col. Flower receive the pay and rations of a colonel 
from the 16th of July, 1776, to this 11th day of February, 1778. 

Resolved^ That a commission of captain in Col. Flower’s regiment of 
artillery artificers be granted to Wollory Meng, dated the 1st of April, 
1777. 

That Captain-Lieutenant Thomas Wylie be promoted to the rank of 
captain of an additional company to be raised in the said regiment of 
artillery artificers, his commission to be dated the 1st of February, 1778. 

Resolved^ That the Board of War and Ordnance be empowered to 
make a contract with Mr. Byers, as superintendent of a foundery of 
brass cannon. 

March 19, 1778. 

Resolred, That it be recommended to each State to appoint some 
suitable person or persons to get made with all possible despatch as 
many complete sets of accoutrements and spare bayonet sheaths as 


554 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OB' GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 

shall be sufficient for their respective quotas of troops; the cartridge 
boxes to be made to hold at least 29 rounds of cartridges when niade 
up with ounce balls, and the cover of good substantial leather with a 
small cover or flap under it that the ammunition may be most effectually 
guarded against rain; and to prevent impositions from the workmen, 
that proper inspectors be appointed to examine and receive the accou¬ 
trements, with orders to reject such as are bad and insufficient, and 
that the accoutrements so provided be sent forward with the troops, 
or as soon after as possible. 

That in case in any State they have quantities of tin, instead of the 
cartouch boxes, an equal number of tin cartridge canisters be furnished 
agr(‘eably to a pattern or description to be sent to the Board of War. 


April 1778, 

Resolved,, That Daniel and Samuel Hughes, of the State of Mary¬ 
land, shall not be held to make any more cannon on their present 
contract; 

* * ’ * 

That the Board of War and Ordnance be authorized to enter into a 
contract with Messrs. Daniel and Samuel Hughes for such a number 
of battering cannon and mortars, and such quantit}^ of shot and shells 
as they shall deem necessarv for the public service. 

Ajjril 18, 1778. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to make a strict inquiiy 
into the mode in which the armourer’s department has been hitherto 
conducted and report to Congress the result of their inquiry, and, if 
they judge necessaiy, to dismiss the persons who have been*^ hitherto 
employed in that business and to engage others in their stead on the 
best terms possible. 


April <28, 1778. 


A letter of the 21st from the Board of M^ar was read wherein they 
inform that . . . they have dismissed Mr. Butler, the former 

public armourer, and appointed William Henry, esq., of Lancaster, 
superintendent of anns and military accoutrements. 

Resolved, That Congress approve the proceedings of the Board of 
War and confirm their appointment. 


May 7, 1778. 

The Board of W^ar having recommended Nathaniel Chapman, esq., 
to be captain of the additional company to Colonel Flower’s regiment 
of artillery artificers; John Jordan, esq., to be captain in the room of 
David Pancoast, resigned; and Henry Strape and Theophilus Parks, 
lieutenants in the same corps; ’ 

Resolved, That they be appointed and that commissions be granted 
to them accordingly. 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


555 


June 10^ 1778. 

Resolved., That Governor Henry be requested to purchase for the 
United States the articles contained in the list hereto annexed, being 
part of the cargo of the French ship Le Fier Rodeidoue., as cheap as he 
can, not exceeding the price following, viz, £450 Virginia money for 
every £100 sterling, to be paid in tobac(;o at 10 dollars per hundred, 
and that a letter be written to his excellency explaining the principle 
of such limitation. 

LIST OF ARTICLES. 

Leaden bullets of ditterent sizes; . . . gunpowder; flints; 

June 20, 1778 .—Cornelius Sweers, deputy commissary-general of military stores, 
was arrested June 20, pending examination of the charge of fraud made against him 
and was committed to jail August 1, and on the 24th of the month the Board of 
Treasury was directed to employ counsel to prosecute him. 

August 3, 1778 .—Colonel Benjamin Flower, Commissary-General of Military Stores, 
was arrested on charges of malfeasance in office, prepared by Cornelius Sweers, late 
deputy commissary, but was honorably acquitted by Congress August 24, 1778. 

January 1779. 

The committee to whom was referred the memorial of Messrs. Penet 
and Couloux, respecting a manufactory of firearms, report: 

‘‘That the said Messrs. Penet and Couloux propose to establish a 
manufactory for making firearms, side arms, etc., of all kinds, in 
some convenient place in one of the United States, if they can have 
proper encouragement from Congress; that they are willing to contract 
to make and deliver 100,000 muskets with bayonets of the best kind, 
completely finished, at the price of 26^ livres apiece, to be paid in 
specie or other currency equivalent; that they will deliver 20,000 of 
the said arms b}^ the expiration of two years and an half, and the resi¬ 
due within the term of six or seven years from the time of contract¬ 
ing; or, if the whole number of muskets are not wanted, they will 
agree to make any other kind of firearms or side arms in lieu thereof, 
they to find all materials and be at the whole expense of making the 
arms.” 

The committee further report: 

“That in their opinion it will be beneficial to these States to have 
such a manufactor}^ established, and that the terms proposed are 
reasonable.” 

Resolved., That the Board of War be authorized to contract with 
Messrs. Penet and Couloux for a suibible number of muskets, with 
bayonets of a proper size, and other arms, to be manufactured in these 
States, agreeable to the foregoing proposal. 

February 2, 1779 .—The Board of War having reported that the firm of the house 
in which Mr. Penet is engaged is Messrs. Penet, Windel & Co., and tiiat Mr. Cou¬ 
loux’s name is not to appear in the agreement. Congress modified accordingly the 
above resolution. 

February 18, 1779. 

Congress proceeded to consider the report of the committee appointed 
to confer with the Commander in Chief; and thereupon came to the 
following arrangement of the Department of Ordnance: 


556 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Resolved^ That the commanding officer of artillery of the United 
States, for the time being, shall, under the general orders, and with 
the concurrence of the Commander in Chief, arrange and direct all 
business of the Ordnance Department necessary to be done in the field. 
The ordnance, arms, and military stores in the fixed magazines to be 
drawn out only by the orders of the Board of War and Ordnance; 
unless, in the course of the service, circumstances should occur in 
which the procuring such orders from the board would, in the opin¬ 
ion of the Commander in Chief and commanding officer of artillery, 
occasion improper delays; and in such cases the commanding officer 
of artillery shall have the power to draw from the nearest magazines 
the supplies wanted for the Army; and the different commissaries and 
directors of the magazines and laboratories shall in such cases imme¬ 
diately obey the orders of the commanding officer of artilleiy, inform¬ 
ing the Board of War and Ordnance of the same. And that the 
Commander in Chief and commanding officer of artillery may know 
in such cases where to send for necessary supplies, the Board of War 
and Ordnance shall cause monthly returns of all ordnance, arms, and 
military stores at the magazines and arsenals of the United States to 
be made to the Commander in Chief, who will communicate to the com¬ 
manding officer of artillery the whole or any part of them, as he shall 
judge the good of the service recpures. And as it may frequently 
happen that parts of the Army may be detached to such distances as 
to render their obtaining supplies, in the circumstances above men¬ 
tioned, by the immediate ordei-s of the Commander in Chief and com¬ 
manding officer of artillery inconvenient, in such cases the Commander 
in Chief and commanding officer of artillery shall give to the com¬ 
manding officer of the detachment, and of the artillery annexed to it, 
proper directions for furnishing the detachment with the necessary 
supplies of ordnance, arms, and militaiy stores; and the orders of the 
said commanding officers of the detachment, and of the artillery 
annexed to it, given pursuant to the said directions, shall be obeyed 
by the commissaries and directors at the magazines and laboratories, 
as if given immediately by the Commander in Chief and commanding 
officer of artillery of the United States. Each commanding officer of 
artilleiy making these extraordinary draughts shall immediately give 
information thereof, and of the occasion of them, to the Board of War 
and Ordnance. 

2. That there shall be a field commissary of military stores, to be 
appointed by the Board of War and Ordnance, who shall receive and 
issue all ordnance, arms, and military stores in the field pursuant to 
orders of the Commander in Chief and commanding officer of artillery; 
all orders for this purpose from the Commander in Chief to be directed 
to the commanding officer of artillery. The field commissary shall 
have so many deputies, conductors, and clerks, to be likewise appointed 
by the Board of War and Ordnance, as, in the opinion of the board, 
the Commander in Chief, and commanding officer of artillery, the 
service shall from time to time require. 

3. The commanding officer of artillery, with the concurrence of the 
Commander in Chief, shall from time to time lay before the Board of 
War and Ordnance proper estimates (which are by the board to be 
transmitted to Congress) of all ordnance, arms, and military stores 
necessary to be made and provided for the use of the Army of the 
U nited States, that the necessary orders may be given concerning them. 

4. That whenever the said commanding officer of artillery shall judge 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


557 


SLuy particular directions necessary for, or alterations and improve¬ 
ments to be made in, the construction or preparation of ordnance, 
arms, and military stores of any kind, he shall communicate the same 
to the Board of War and Ordnance for their consideration, who shall 
thereupon give such orders for the artificers and laboratory men as 
they shall judge the good of the service requires. 

5. That the field commissary of military stores, his deputies, con¬ 
ductors, and clerks, shall be independent of the Commissary-General 
of military stores; and the said field commissary shall make monthly 
returns of all ordnance, arms, and military stores received, issued, and 
remaining on hand to the Board of War and Ordnance, the Commander 
in Chief, and the commanding officer of artillery. His deputies and 
conductors also having the chief care of the military stores, with any 
detached parts of the Army, shall make the like returns to the Board 
of War and Ordnance, the respective officers commanding those detach¬ 
ments, their commanding officers of artillery, and the field commissary; 
and the latter shall draw the whole into one general return monthly, 
one copy whereof he shall transmit to the Board of War and Ordnance, 
one to the Commander in Chief, one to the commanding officer of artil¬ 
lery, and a fourth to the Commissary-General of military stores. 

6. That all moneys necessary for the department of the field com¬ 
missary of military stores shall be drawn out of the military chests 
by warrants from the Commander in Chief and officers commanding 
detached parts of the Army, respectively; and the accounts of expendi¬ 
tures adjusted and settled by the auditors of accounts, once in every 
three months, and finally transmitted to the Treasury Board. 

7. That when it shall be thought necessary, the commanding officer 
of artillery shall send officers of artilleiy to visit the laboratories, and 
founderies and manufactories, to the intent that they may thereby 
gain an insight into the mechanical branches of their profession. And 
such number of artillery officers as, in the opinion of the commanding 
officer of artillery, with the concurrence of the Commander in Chief, 
can be spared from their duty in the field shall, at every convenient 
season, be stationed at all or any of the principal laboratories, to be 
instructed in the laboratory art, that a knowledge thereof may be 
disseminated through the corps. 

8. That the deputy field commissaries and conductors shall apply 
for and receive all ordnance, arms, and stores issued from the field 
arsenals and magazines. And to prevent any that are insufficient 
being carried into the field, the said commissaries and conductors shall 
receive none apparently unfit for service. And whenever any articles 
in the Ordnance Department in the field shall be so damaged that they 
can not be there repaired, and are, by order of the commanding officer 
of artillery, with the Army, or with any detachment of it, sent to the 
Commissary-General of military stores, or any of his deputies, he and 
they shall receive the same, at such place as shall be most convenient, 
and either immediately cause them to be repaired or replace them with 
others fit for service, as shall be most conducive to the public interest. 

9. That the appointments of the said field commissary and his 
subordinate officer be as follows, viz: 


Pay per month. 

Of the field commissary. 75 dollars. 

Deputy field commissary.60 

Conductor.40 

Clerk.40 


Subsist, per month. Rations per day. 


40 dollars. 1 

30 1 

10 1 

10 1 






558 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


10. That there shall be one surveyor of ordnance, to be appointed 
annually from the colonels, the appointment to be made by the Board 
of War and Ordnance, until Congress shall direct otherwise. The 
officer thus appointed shall retain his rank in the artillery and all the 
benefits arising from it; but during the time of his surveyorship he 
shall not, except in extraordinary cases, or when called for by the 
Commander in Chief, perform any duty in the line. His duty as sur¬ 
veyor shall be to examine into the construction, qualities, and condi¬ 
tion of all cannon, carriages, arms^ and the materials for and prepa¬ 
ration of every species of warlike stores, and to visit all the different 
arsenals, founderies, laboratories, and workshops belonging to the 
Ordnance Department of the United States, carefully noting every 
error and defect he shall discover; which, together with a general 
state of the department, he shall report immediately to the Board of 
War and Ordnance, as well as the commanding officer of the artillery, 
with his ideas of any alterations and improvements proper to be made 
thereon. He shall also examine all ordnance and military stores in 
the field, and report the state of them to the commanding officer of 
artillery and the Board of War and Ordnance; and for the purposes 
aforesaid the commissaries of militaiw stores, as well in the field as 
elsewhere, shall make returns to the said surve 5 ^or, and shall expose 
to his view all the ordnance, arms, and stores, and all materials for 
the Ordnance Department in their custod 3 ^ And the surveyor shall 
examine the said stores to ascertain whether the quality, quantity, and 
numbers agree with the return, and make report to the board only. 
He shall likewise examine into the number of workmen employed in 
each branch of the Ordnance Department, and the principal in each 
branch shall make monthl}^ returns of all work done within the month, 
one to the said surveyor of ordnance and one to the Commissary- 
General of Militar 3 " Stores; and each of the latter shall transmit copies 
thereof monthly to the Board of War and Ordnance. 

11. For executing the duties before mentioned and any others relat¬ 
ing to the Ordnance Department which the good of the service may 
from time to time require, the Board of War and Ordnance shall give 
to the said surveyor such instructions as they shall think proper. 

12. For defra^dng the expenses of the said surve^^or in the exercise 
of his office he shall be allowed 70 dollars per month, besides his 
appointments as a field officer of artillery. 

13. That the commanding officer of artillery of the United States, 
for the performance of his duties therein before prescribed, shall be 
allowed 75 dollars per month; and the commanding officer of artillery 
with any detached part of the Army shall have a like allowance, in 
proportion to his pay in the line. 

March 16, 1779. 

Resol/ved, That all warrant officers in the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

April 13, 1779. 

Resol/oed, That the State of Virginia be requested to lend to the 
United States 1,000 stand of arms for the purpose of arming the forces 
destined for the defense of South Carolina and Georgia; . . , 


THE OEDNANCE DEPAETMENT. 


559 


April 27^ 1779r ‘For the future all issues of arms and military stores in camp will 
be made by the immediate order of Brigadier-General Knox, to whom all returns for 
that purpose are to be made. He will cause the Commissary of Military Stores to 
keep exact accounts with the regiments for what he delivers. ’ ’ ( Orders, General Head¬ 
quarters, Middle-Brook.) 

May 19, H79. —“A conductor of military stores is to be appointed to each brigade, 

he IS to have a travelling forge with suitable tools, an ammunition waggon, and a 
^^Sgon with an arm chest for each regiment.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle- 

JulyS^ 1779. Captain Alexander Henderson, deputy commissary of military stores, 

July 23, 1779.—The resignation of Lieut. Andrew Caldwell, of Captain Cowan’s 
company of laboratory artillerymen, was accepted. 

Decernher 1779. 

Resol/ped., That commissions bo granted to the officers of the com¬ 
pany of artillery artificers attached to the artillery in the field, and 
bear date as follows, viz: That of Noah Nichols, captain, November 16, 
1776; Thomas Patten, captain-lieutenant, March 1, 1779; Bela Nichols, 
first lieutenant, March 1, 1779; Peter Sears, second lieutenant, March 
1, 1779. 

Deccmiler 23, 1779. 

Resolved, That instead of the subsistence allowed by an act of Con¬ 
gress of the 18th day of February last, to the officers in the depart¬ 
ment of the field commissary of military stores, the following sums 
be allowed, viz: To the field commissary, 400 dollars per month; to a 
deputy field commissary, 300 dollars; to a conductor, 100 dollars; to a 
clerk, 100 dollars; and that this increased subsistence commence on 
the I8th day of August last, and continue till the further order of 
Congress. 


Febmiary 11, 1780. 

A letter of the 9th from the Board of War, informing that they had 
appointed Samuel Hodgdon, the principal field commissary of military 
stores, to be deputy commissary-general of military stores, and pro¬ 
posing that his pay should be 1,250 dollars per month; whereupon. 
Resolved, That the pay of Samuel Hodgdon, deputy commissary- 
general of military stores, be 1,250 dollars per month until the further 
order of Congress. 

July 13, 1780 .—Lieutenant Dow. of Colonel Flower’s regiment of artillery artificers, 
promoted captain-lieutenant to date from April 4, 1780, the date when Captain- 
Lieutenant Parks was dismissed. 


July 15, 1780. 

Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses be 
allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be by 
order of the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a separate 
army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many baggage 
wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to wit: 

* * ■ * 

Field commissary of military stores and his deputy with the main 
army, 1 two-horse wagon or two bathorses. 


560 LEGISLATIVE HISTOBY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 


Deputy commissary of military stores with a separate army, 1 two- 
horse wagon or two bathorses. 

* * * 

ResoVced^ That in addition . . . there be issued ... as 

many rations as the service shall require: 

; field commissary of military stores, two; deputy field 
commissary of military stores, one; . . . 

July 1780. 

Resolved^ That the Board of War and Ordnance be authorized and 
directed to procure with all possible despatch 615 tons of shot for bat¬ 
tering cannon, and 947 tons of shells, of such sizes as they shall deem 
proper, according to the requisitions made by the Commander in Chief. 

July m, 1780. 

Resolved.^ That Ezekiel Cheever, esq., and Lieutenant-Colonel David 
Mason, who have been employed at Springfield, in the State of Massa¬ 
chusetts Bay, in the department of the commissary-general of military 
stores, be excused from further service at that post; 

That the Board of War and Ordnance be authorized and directed to 
remove any unnecessary officers at that and any other post in the 
department of the commissary-general of military stores, and to arrange 
the affairs of the whole department in such manner as they shall deem 
most conducive to the public service, reporting their proceedings to 
Congress. 

August 1780. 

The Board of War report: 

That, pursuant to a resolution of July 26th, they have enquired into 
the state of the department of military stores; and upon mature delib¬ 
eration propose to retain in service one commissary-general of mili¬ 
tary stores, one deputy commissary-general, one commissary at Spring- 
field, one commissary at Carlisle, one commissary in Virginia, and two 
or three other commissaries, or deputy commissaries, at some subor¬ 
dinate posts and stations; 

They also propose to retain but one officer to each company of artifi¬ 
cers, who, with his sergeants, will be competent to the proper direction 
of his men; 

That the pay of a commissary of military stores be not less than 360 
nor more than 1,750 dollars per month; 

That the pay of a deputy commissary, or a conductor of military 
stores, be not less than 240 nor more than 1,000 dollars per month; 

That the pay of the clerks be fixed by the Board of War and Ord¬ 
nance in proportion to their respective merit and services; 

That the pay of a captain of artillery artificers be 900 dollars per 
month; a captain-lieutenant, 750 dollars per month; a lieutenant, 600 
dollars per month; a sergeant, from 150 to 200 dollars per month; a 
corporal, acting as a foreman in any branch of work, the same pay as 
a sergeant; 

Other corporals and drummers, lifers, and privates, from 30 to 150 
dollars per month; 

That the pay of the commissaries, deputy commissaries, and conduct- 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


561 


ors, to be confined within the limits before mentioned, be fixed accord¬ 
ing to their respective merit and services b}^ the Board of War and 
Ordnance; 

That the pay of the noncommissioned officers and privates be fixed 
accoi-ding to their respective merit and services, within the limits before 
mentioned, by the major part of their commissioned officers, who shall 
meet together monthly for that purpose; 

That a daily ration of forage be allowed only to such commissaries 
and conductors of military stores whose frequent traveling shall, in the 
opinion of the Board of War, require the same. 

That Congress agree to this report, and that the same be 
carried into execution until the further order of Congress. 

August 22, 1780. 

Whereas, it is of the utmost importance effectually to prevent the 
destruction, waste, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public 
stores, . . . uponwhich the existence of the armies of these United 

States may depend, and no adequate provision hath been made for the 
just punishment of delinquents in the departments of the . . . Com¬ 
missary-General of military stores, . . . Therefore, 

Resolved, That every person in any of the said departments intrusted 
with the care of provisions, or military or hospital stores, or other 
property of these United States, who shall be convicted, at a general 
coui’t-martial, of having sold, without a proper order for that purpose, 
embezzled, or wilfully misapplied, damaged, or spoiled any of the pro¬ 
visions, horses, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other military 
or hospital stores, or property belonging to the United States of Amer¬ 
ica, shall suffer death or such other punishment as shall be directed 
by a general court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the 
offence, at the discretion of such court; and every person in any of 
the said departments, intrusted as aforesaid, who shall be convicted at 
a general court-martial of having, through neglect, suffered any of the 
articles aforesaid to be wasted, spoiled, or damaged shall suffer such 
punishment as the said court shall, in their discretion, direct, accord¬ 
ing to the degree of the offence. 

August 30, 1780. 

Resolved, That Major Joseph Eayres and Captain Nathaniel Chap¬ 
man, who have been employed at Springfield, in the department of 
the commissary-general of military stores; Major Charles Lukens, 
at Carlisle, and Captain-Lieutenant E. Godfrey, at Philadelphia, be 
excused from further service. 

Octobeu^ 3, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the Regular Army of the United States, 

from and after the first day of January next, consist of ... 1 

regiment of artificers; 

* * * 

That the regiment of artificers consist of 8 companies, and each 
company of 60 noncommissioned officers and privates. 

S. Doc. 229-86 


562 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That the several States furnish the following quotas, viz, . . . 

Penns34vania ... 1 regiment of artificers; . 

October 15, 1780. —The issuing commissaries are to deliver all their sheep and calve 
skins to the field commissary of military stores with the park of artillery, who will 
havethemproperly dressed for drumheads.” {Orders, General Headquarters, Totowa.) 

November 25^ 1780. 

Resolved, That all the artificers in the department of military stores 
in Pennsylvania be removed to Carlisle; and that in future only an 
issuing store and elaboratory for fixed ammunition be kept in Phila¬ 
delphia. 

That General Washington detach a field oflScer of artillery to take 
the command and superintend the business at Carlisle, and under the 
orders of the Board of ATar. 

January 8, 1781. —Congress accepted the resignation of Lieut. Henry Stroop, of 
Colonel Flower’s regiment of artificers. 

January 12, 1781. 

Resolved, That from and after the 1st day of August last the pay 
and appointments of the officers in the Department of the commissary- 
general of militaiy stores be as follows, the sums hereafter mentioned 
to be paid in bills of the new emission, and all mone^^s received in bills 
of the old emissions since the said 1st day of August be accounted for 
agreeable to the table of depreciation, as fixed by the Board of Treas¬ 
ury; Commissary-General of Militaiy Stores, 100 dollars per month, 3 
rations per day; deputy commissaiy-general, 80 dollars per month, 2 
rations per da}^; commissaries, 70 dollars per month, 2 rations per 
day; deputy commissaries, 55 dollars per month, 2 rations per day; 
conductors, 45 dollars per month, 1 ration per dayq clerks, 40 dollars 
per month, 1 ration per dayL 

No rations in addition to the number above mentioned are to be 
allowed for servants; 

That the officers and men of the regiment of artilleiy artificers have 
the same pay from and after the said first day of August in bills of 
the new emission as was originally fixed in bills of the then emission, 
by the regulations of the department made by- Congress on the 11th 
day" of February, 1778, and that they draw the number of rations then 
directed. 

That the appointments of the field commissary of military stores 
and his subordinate officers be as follows, from and after the 1st day 
of August last, the pay to be received in bills of the new emission: 
Field commissary, 90 dollars per month, 2 rations per day, servants 
included; deputy field commissary, 70 dollars per month, 2 rations per 
day, servants included; conductor, 45 dollars per month, 1 ration per 
day, servants included; clerks, 40 dollars per month, 1 ration per day, 
servants included. 

That the commanding officer of artillery, for his extra services in 
the affairs of the Ordnance Department, receive 40 dollars per month, 
in addition to his pay as an officer in the line, in bills of the new emis¬ 
sion, from and after the 1st day of August last. 

That the survevor of ordnance, foi' defray^ing his expenses in the 
exercise of his office, be allowed, from and after the 1st day of August 
last, 40 dollars per month, in bills of the new emission,*^ besides his 
appointment as a field officer of artilleiy. 


THE OKDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


563 


January 31, 1781. 

Resolved., That the coniiiiissarv-o-eneral of niilitary stores, or first 
otficer in that department, be, and herefiy is, allowed, from and after 
the first day of August last, 115 dollars a month, in bills emitted pur¬ 
suant to the act of the 18th of March last; and that the deputy eom- 
missary, or second officer in that department, be, and hereby is, 
allowed, from the said first day of August, the sum of 90 dollars per 
month, in the bills aforesaid, in lieu of the sums allowed them, respec¬ 
tively, by the resolution of the 12th instant. 

Fehrvary W, 1781. 

^ Resolved, That the Board of AVar be, and hercb}" are, directed to fur¬ 
nish the Southern army with . . . 5,000 muskets, with bayonet 

and cartouch boxes; ... 10 tons of musket powder, 5 tons of 

cannon powder, and 20 tons of lead. 

dTat the Board of War furnish the artilleiy and cavalry with the 
lecessaiy ammunition and equipments not comprised in the foregoing 
resolutions; and that they cmplo}’^ a sufficient numl)er of artificers to 
repair the arms in the magazines of Virginia and other places. 

Febmarif 26, 1781 .—Congress recommended to the State of Massachusetts to make 
up to Colonel Gridley the depreciation of his pay as engineer at $60 per month from 
the time of his appointment to the 1st day of .January, 1781. [Colonel Gridley was 
colonel of the Massachusetts artillery regiment May, 1775; wounded at Bunker Hill 
.June 17, 1775; colonel and chief of the Continental Artillery September 20 to Novem¬ 
ber 17, 1775; colonel and Chief Engineer .June, 1775, tox\ugust 5, 1776; was retained 
in service as colonel and engineer to Januarv 1, 1781, when he was retired. He died 
.June 21, 1786.] 

March S, 1781 .—Congress accepted resignation of Nathaniel Barber, commissary of 
military stores at Boston. 

March 7, 1781 .—A letter of the 6th from the Board of AVar inclosed a letter of May 
20, 1780, from Messrs. Penet & Co., from which it appeared that their contract for 
manofacturing arms is entirely at an end from a failure on their part. 

March W, 1781. 

Resolved, That the regiment of artificers, commanded b}- Colonel 
Baldwin, be dissolved; and those of the noncommissioned officers and 
l)rivates whose times of service are unexpired, and are now with the 
main army, be formed into one company, under such officers and be 
emplo^^ed in such way as the Commander in Chief shall direct. 

That the artificers with the Southern army be also formed into one 
company, under a competent number of officers to be selected by the 
commanding general of that army. 

That all officers of the regiment of artificers not retained by virtue 
of these resolutions be no longer considered in the service of the 
United States. 

Re^^olved, That all the noncommissioned officers and men of the 
regiment of artillery artificers at Carlisle, whose times of service are 
uiH^xpired, be formed into one or more company or companies, and 
the officers at that place, except Captains AViley and Jordan, be no 
longer considered in the service of the United States. 

Aynll 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finaiu'e be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to JTinove from office or employment, for incapacity, neg¬ 
ligence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior, such })ersons not immedi- 


564 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


ately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled as are or 
may be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the 
expenditure of the public supplies, stores, or other property ; . . . 

and such of the said persons as are or nnw be, in his judgment, 
unnecessary, reporting to such authority, board, minister, or office, 
to whom it may belong to supply the vacancy, the respective names 
of the persons so removed. 

That he be authorized to suspend from office or employment, for 
similar causes, persons officially employed and entrusted as aforesaid, 
immediately appointed b}^ the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason of suspension. 

Provided^ That in all cases where any of the persons aforesaid are 
or may be amenable to the law martial the superintendent be, and he 
is hereby, authorized and directed, if he shall deem it most expedient 
for the public service, to put them in arrest by order in writing, and 
to apply to the officer whose duty it may be to order a court-martial; 
and such officer is hereby directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingly. 

That in every case of suspension all pay and emoluments cease from 
the date thereof unless the persons suspended be, upon trial, acquitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place when it may be necessary, by a temporary appointment, to con¬ 
tinue until the person suspended be restored or dismissed. 

That the aforesaid powers shall not be construed to interfere with 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Army, or those who may be dul}^ entrusted with mone}^ for secret service 
]\y Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or commanding 
officer of a separate department. 

That the powers aforesaid be exercised during the pleasure of Con¬ 
gress, but not to extend beyond the duration of the war. 

* * * 


Ordered^ . . . That the said E. Cornell [one of the commission¬ 

ers of the Board of War] be, and he is hereby, directed to visit the mil¬ 
itary stores and laboratory to the eastward, in the department of the 
commissary of military stores, and to take measures for removing 
arms, ammunition, and stores from thence to the main arm}^ or to the 
southward; and to correct abuses in the said department, agreebly to 
instructions he may receive from the Board of War for these purposes. 

May 2, 1781. —Place of Commissary-General of Military Stores vacated by death of 
Colonel Flower. 

June 18, 1781. 


Resolved, ... That the Commander in Chief and the command¬ 
ing general in a separate department, respectively, be, and hereby are, 
authorized to direct what clothing shall, from time to time, be dealt 
out to the artificers . . . , having regard to the nature of their 

service and the terms of their contract, and time for which they are 
engaged. 

July 10, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, either by himself or such person or persons as he shall, 
from time to time, appoint for the purpose, to procure or contract all 
necessary supplies for the use of the Army or armies of the United 
States, . . . and also the transportation thereof; . . . 


THE ORDNANCE DEPAKTMEINT. 


5G5 


July m, 1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary-general of mili¬ 
tary stores; and, the ballots being taken, 

Samuel Hodgdon was elected, having been previously nominated bv 
Mr. Howley. 

July 30, 1781. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be, and they are hereby, empow- 
ered to continue such of the officers in the laboratoiy and artificers at 
Springfield as the good of the service ma}^ require, and to remove all 
and every other officer in the laboratory or corps of artificers at that 
place, and proceed to make such further reforms in the department of 
the commissary of military stores at other posts as they judge may 
conduce to the public interest. 

August 23, 1781. 

Resolved, That the Board of War and Ordnance be, and hereby are, 
authorized and directed to take measures for vacating the contract 
made by order of Congress the 19th day of September, 1777,^ with 
James Byers, cannon founder. 

September 1781. 

Resolved, That all the . . . artillery, arms, and military stores 

shipped in pursuance of the orders of the Honorable John Laurence, 
spe(‘ial minister to the Court of Versailles, for the use of the United 
States, be upon its arrival delivered to the order of the Board of War, 
who are hereby empowered and directed to take charge and direction 
of the same. 

September 25, 1781 .—“The several issuing commissaries will be particularly careful 
in preserving all the sheepskins for the use of the artillery. They will be delivered, 
on application, to Mr. Thomas Jones, deputy field commissary of military stores.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Williamsburg.) 

January 10, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . The Inspector-General, or inspector-general of 
a separate arm}^ shall be authorized to call on the . . . field com¬ 

missary of military stores, or their deputies, for returns of the articles 
which have been issued from and returned to their several departments 
by each corps. . . . 

April 10, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the Commander in Chief be furnished with 
returns of ordnance and ordnance stores when he shall request them 
from the War Office. 

vr * * 

That the Secretary at War direct the building and management of 
laboratories, arsenals, foundries, magazines, . . . the necessity 

of which he is from time to time to report, and the same is to be 
approved of by Congress. 


^ Congress was not in session September 19, 1777, but February 11, 1778, the Board ■ 
of War was authorized to make a contract with IMr. Byers. De(;ember 20, 1783, he 
offered to relinquish his contract, which he (styled director of the foundry for cast¬ 
ing brass ordnance) formally relinquished April 13, 1785. 




5oG LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


A^il 178%. 

Resolved^ That from and after the first day of May next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow¬ 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster’s Department ... be, and they are 
herebv, repealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations . . . 

affixed to their several ranks, viz: 


* * * 

Field commissary_1 ration per day; dollars per month. 

Do., Southern army_1 do ; do. 


%3, 178%. 

Resolved^ . . . That the supernumerary junior lieutenants, 

beyond the number of ten in each regiment of infantry, be reduced; 
. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the 

staff departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective 
ranks in the Army, and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence 
belonging to their rank in the line, as a compensation for their respec¬ 
tive services in the staff without any other allowance whatsoever; . . . 

May 7, 178%. 

Resolved^ That the superintendent of finance be, and hereby is, 
authorized to appoint an inspector for the main and Southern army, 
to take care that the contracts for supplying rations be duly executed 
by the contractors; that the said inspectors shall also be, and they are 
hereby, fully empowered and directed to attend to the expenditures of 
public property in the several departments of the Arm}^ and report 
any fraud, neglect of duty, or other misconduct by which the public 
property is wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated, so that the 
party charged therewith may be tried by court-martial on such charges 
exhibited against him by either of the said inspectors; and that neither 
the said inspectors nor the said contractors, or their property, be lia¬ 
ble to arrest or subject to martial law, except by the express order of 
the Commander in Chief, or commander of the army to which the 
inspectors respectively shall be appointed, any resolution or act of 
Congress heretofore made notwithstanding. 

That the pay to each inspector be 166| dollars per month in full of 
all allowances. 

That each inspector, when appointed, shall take an oath for the 
faithful and impartial execution of the trust reposed in him as inspec¬ 
tor of the contracts of the Army. 

May 30, 1782 .—The Superintendent of Finance and the Secretary at War were 
directed to inquire into a contract made with Mr. Jacob Ruhsainen for the purpose 
of instructing the people of Virginia in the mode of making saltpeter, and whether 
his further services were necessary. August 26, 1782, Congress agreed that Mr. R.’s 
services as instructor were no longer needed. 

July 4,1782 .—“To prevent the accidental communication of fire to the powder mag¬ 
azines, which would endanger the lives of many persons and total demolition of the 
fortifications, besides the inconvenience that must arise from the loss of the powder, 
the Commander in Chief directs that the quartermaster or commissary of military 




THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


567 


stores may as soon as possible, have grates fixed to the air holes of the magazines, 
and that lanthorns made of transparent horn or glass be immediately provided 
instead of those made of pierced tin, which are at present very imprudently used. 
Until the horn or glass lanthorns are provided the greatest care is to be taken not to 
open the door of the lanthorns in the magazines, and at all times to have water in 
the bottom to extinguish sparks. It is, moreover, positively ordered that no person 
whatever be permitted to enter a powder magazine without first pulling off his 
shoes.— {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

July 2^, 1782. 


Rtmlved, That the act of Congress of the 11th day of Februai^, 
1778, and all subsequent resolutions, so far as they respect the depart¬ 
ment of the commissary-general of military stores, be, and they are 
hereby, repealed. 

Resolved., That the Secretaiy at War be, and he is hereby, empow¬ 
ered to appoint, from time to time, a commissary of military stores, 
who shall be subject to his orders and instructions, and shall receiye 
a salaiy of 1,000 dollars per annum. 

That the Secretary at War be further empowered to appoint, from 
time to time, so many^ officers, to be taken from the officers of the 
Army, if agreeable to them, as he may find necessary to superintend 
the business in that department. 

September 3, 1782. 

Resolved^ That all resolutions heretofore passed respecting the pay 
and emoluments of the field commissary of militaiy stores, his deputies, 
conductors, and clerks, be, and they are hereby, repealed. 

Resolved^ That the pay and emoluments of the field commissary of 
military stores shall be 50 dollars per month, two rations per day, for¬ 
age for two saddle horses, and one bathorse. He shall also be allowed 

dollars per month for a seryant, for whom he shall be entitled to draw 
one ration per day and the clothing allowed to a priyate soldier. 

That the pay and emoluments of a deputy field commissaiy of mili- 
taiT stores for the southern army shall be 40 dollars per month, two 
rations per day, forage for two saddle horses, and one bathorse. He 
shall also be allowed 6f dollars per month for a seryant, for whom he 
shall be entitled to draw one ration per day and the clothing allowed 
to a priyate soldier. 

Resolved., That the pay and emoluments of the deputy field commis¬ 
sary of military stores at West Point shall be 40 dollars per month 
and two rations per day. 

That the pay and emoluments of the conductors or clerks shall be 
30 dollars per inonth and one ration per day. 

Resolved., That there shall be one field commissaiy of military stores 
and two conductors or clerks for the main army in the field; one deputy 
field commissary of military stores and two conductors or clerks for 
West Point; one deputy field commissary of military stores and two 
conductors or clerks for the southern army; and one conductor for 
the post at Fort Pitt, who shall be appointed by the commanding 
officer of the artillery, with the approbation of the Commander in 
Chief; excepting for the southern army, in which department the 
appointment shall be made by the commanding officer of artillery there, 
with the approbation of the commanding officer of the department. 


508 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 


September 17, 1782. —“ Major-General Knox having appointed Richard Frothing- 
hani, field coins’y of military stores for the main army; Asa Copeland, conductor; 
John Hoff, clerk; John Ruddock, deputy coms’y at West Point; John Banks, con¬ 
ductor; William Herriott, clerk; Mathew Parvin, conductor at Fort Pitt, the Com¬ 
mander in Chief is pleased to approve the above appointments.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, VerplanFs Point.) 

September 23, 1782. —“The brigade conductors of military stores having been 
deranged by the late orders of Congress, the stores, wagons, forges, tools, etc., in 
their possession are to be delivered to the brigade quartermasters, who are. in future 
to be responsible for this duty. A sergeant from each brigade must be appointed to 
have the special charge of the forges and stores, and to act under the orders of the 
brigade quartermasters. When any arms, ammunition, or accoutrements are wanting, 
regimental returns in the manner prescribed in the regulations are to be made to the 
brigade quartermasters, who will form them into a brigade, return and obtain the signa¬ 
ture of the commanding ofiicer of brigade and the Inspector-General or inspector.” 
{Orders, General Headquarters, VerplanPs Point.) 

October 1782. 

Resolved., . . . That the following- be the proportion of wagons 

and bathorses to the different ranks of officers, . . . : 

* * * 

Field commissary of military stores and his deputy with the main 
and southern army, each one bathorse. 

* * * 

That there shall be allowed for saddle horses: 

-X- * * 

Field commissary of military stores_2 rations. 

Deputy with a separate army_2 do. 

* -X- * 


April 17, 1783. 

Resolved, That immediate measures be taken for the sale of . . . 

all such articles in the several military departments as may not be 
Decenary for the use of the Army, previous to its reduction, or for 
the formation of magazines on a peace establishment. 

November If,, 1783. 

Resolved, That Samuel Hodgdon, commissary of military stores, 
under the appointment of the Secretary at War, be continued in that 
office until the further order of Congress, and that he be empowered 
to continue such assistants as may be necessary to take care of the 
military stores. 

Note. ^^Jaly 24, 1782, the Secretary at War waw authorized to appoint a coiiiinis- 
sary of military stores. 

January 22, 178^. 

Ordered, That the commissary of military stores be directed not to 
dispose of any such stores without the express order of Congress. 

January 29, 178J 

Resolved, That regular returns of military stores ... be made 
to the war office. 




THE OEDNANCE DEPAETMENT. 


569 


Resolved^ That the principals in the several de]jartnients of . . . 

coininissary of military stores . . . be, and they are hereby, 

ordered to transmit, as soon as may he, to the war office, to be laid 
before Congress, exact returns of all the stores in their respective 
departments, specifying the (piantity and quality of each article, where- 
deposited, in whose care, and in what manner secured. 

Janua'i'y 30^ 178 

Resolved., That the superintendent of finance propose to Mr. James 
Byers, in behalf of the United States, a mutual relinquishment of right 
and title to services and sahiry, and in case Mr. Byers shall not assent 
to the proposition, that the commissary of military stores give him 
such directions as he is obliged to conform to by his contract. 

2ray J, 1781^. 

Resolved., That the commissary of military stores, or person having 
the care of the public stores at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, be, and he is 
hereby, directed to deliver to the order of the corporation of the city 
of New York the bells which have been taken from the churches and 
other public edifices in the said city, if any such bells remain in his 
possession. 

Decefinher 7, 1781^,. 

Resolved^ That the Secretary in the war office be directed to stop the 
sale of such . . . military stores as were directed to be sold under 

a letter from the said Secretary of 2dd May, 1784, until the further 
order of Congress. 

Septemher 6^ 1786. 

Ordered^ That the Secretary at War, as soon as may be, cause to be 
made and transmitted to Congress an exact return of all cannon, 
with their sizes and appendages; small arms with their accoutrements; 
swords, pistols, . . . ammunition . . . and public stores, 
. . . the custody of which is charged on the Department of War; 
distinguishing the quantity or number, quality and kind of each, and 
the several places of their deposits; and that he transmit a like return 
on the first Monday in January and the first Monday in July, annuall}^ 

Octoher 1788. 

The committee, consisting of Mr. Howard, Mr. Few, Mr. Dayton, 
Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Carrington, appointed to make full enquiry into 
tlie proceedings in the Department of War, beg leave to report and to 
present to the view of Congress a summary statement of the various 
branches of the Department of War. 

* * * 

9th. Of the Ordnance Department .—This branch of the Department 
of War is important and interesting to the Union. 

The ordnance, arms, ammunifion, and all the numerous appendages 
and complex apparatus belonging thereto, in possession of the United 
States, are highly valuable and require an incessant attention to their 
preservation. 


570 LEdISLATIVE HISTOKY OE CIENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


The places where they are deposited are as follows: 


Providence, in Khode Island. 
Springfield, in Massachusetts. 
Mohawk River. 

West Point, on Hudson’s River 


Philadelphia. 

New London and Manchester, Vir¬ 
ginia. 

Charleston, South Carolina. 

Besides Avhich there are considerable quantities of shot and shells at 
the furnaces at which they were cast. The proportions at the respec¬ 
tive places are specified in the returns on the files of Congress. 

The principal arsenals are. at Springfield, West Point, and Phila- 

The other places can be considered as only temporary accommoda¬ 
tions for the stores, which are to be removed as soon as permanent 
arsenals and magazines shall be decided on and provided by the United 
States. 

the information of the Secretary at War it appears that the stores 
are well accommodated at Springfield, in wooden buildings, except the 
magazine, which is an excellent one, built of brick at the public expense 
in 1782. 

That the powder and stores are well accommodated at West Point, 
although the buildings, being built of wood, and the materials unsea¬ 
soned, are going fast to decay. 

That the stores in Philadelphia are too much dispersed in different 
parts of the city, and placed in buildings illy calculated for their 
reception. 

The establishment of proper and permanent arsenals and magazines 
is an object of high importance and demands the serious attention of 
the Government of the United States. But as the expense of erecting 
suitable buildings for this purpose will be great, it will perhaps be 
thought advisable to defer it for the present. 

The arms at Springfield are new and in excellent order, the Secre¬ 
tary at War having had the whole taken to pieces, cleaned, and placed 
in racks prepared for the purpose. 

About 5,000 arms have been repaired at West Point and are fit for 
immediate service. About 10,000 of the others are supposed to be 
worth repairing, and this necessary work is going on at that post on a 
small scale. To emplo}^ the number of workmen requisite to effect the 
business in one year would be too expensive for the public finances. 
These arms would probably, on an average, cost about one dollar and 
a half each to put them in complete order. Between 4,000 and 5,000 
arms are in Virginia, the most of which require repairs. 

The new arms in Philadelphia are in such a state of repair as to need 
cleaning only. The Secretary at War has been constrained to defer 
this operation until a suitable building could be obtained or an arsenal 
erected in which so to deposit them that they can be kept easil}^ in 
order. 

The powder at Springfield and West Point, which places include the 
greatest quantities in possession of the public, is in excellent order. 
Great attention has been annually paid to this article in having it aired, 
cleaned, proved, well packed, and also turned frequently. 

The brass cannon and mortars are and will remain fit for immediate 
service, but it is to be remarked generally that no new carriages for tl^e 
cannon or beds for the mortars have been made since the peace. At 
Springfield there are a number of new cannon carriages which have 


TKE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


571 


never been in service, and also at West Point there are a number ht 
for service, ])ut in general the carriages which were left at the close 
of the war are too defective for use. 

This oi)ject will require attention when the tinances of the Union 
will admit of replacing the carriages, without which the cannon are of 
little service. 

ddie ordnance and military stores at the several arsenals under the 
charge of storekeepers or deputy commissaries of military stores at 
the following rates of pay: 


Springtiekl—One (lejHity commissary, at 40 dollars per month. |480 

One assistant, 15 dollars per month. 180 

Providence—One storekeeper, 8 ditto. 90 

West Point—One deputy commissary, at 40 dollars per month. 480 

Fort llerkemer and ihe Mohawk River—One storekeeper, at 14 82/90. 172 

Philadelphia—One commissary of military stores, at 41 64/90 per mo. 500 

One assistant, 30 dollars per month. 360 

New London and Manchester—One deputy commissary. 480 


2, 748 

There are also deputy commissaries having the charge of the public 
property in South Clirolina and at Carlisle, but they will soon be 
discharged. 

Rents of buildings and WeM Point. 


For the buildings occupied in Philadelphia. 752 60/90 

ditto in Virginia. 350 

ditto for the post of West Point. 400 


1, 502 60/90 

On the esta))lishment of permanent arsenals, and the stores being 
collected together, the expenses arising at any other places Avill cease. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of May <S\ 1792 {1 Stats.., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That all purchases and contracts for supplying the Army 
with . . . military stores, . . . and all other supplies or 

articles for the use of the Department of War, be made l)y oi- under 
t he direction of the Treasury Department. 

* * * 


Act of March 20, 179{1 Stats., 34.0). 

AN ACT to provide for the defence of certain posts and harbors in the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States 
to .. . cause to be provided one hundred cannon, of a caliber 

each to carry a ball of thirty-two pounds weight, and one hundred 
other cannon of a caliber each to carry a ball of twenty-four pounds 















572 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


weight, together with the carriages and implements necessary for the 
same, and carriages with the necessary implements for one hundred 
and lifty other cannon, with two hundred and fifty tons of cannon shot.^ 
* * * 


Act of April 17H {1 Stats., 352). 

AN ACT to provide for the erecting and repairing of arsenals and magazines, and 

for other purposes. 

Sec. 1. That for the safe-keeping of the military stores there shall 
be established, under the direction of the President of the United 
States, three or four arsenals, with magazines, as he shall judge most 
expedient, in such places as will best accommodate the difl'erent parts 
of the United States. Either or both of the arsenals heretofore used 
at Springfield and Carlisle to be continued as part of the said number, 
at his discretion: Provided, That none of the said arsenals be erected 
until purchases of the land necessaiy for their accommodation be made, 
with the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same is 
intended to be erected. 

Sec. 2. That there shall be established at each of the aforesaid arse¬ 
nals a national armory, in which shall be employed one superintendent 
and one master armorer (who shall be appointed by the President of 
the United States), and as many workmen as the Secretary for the 
Department of War shajl from time to time deem necessaiy, so that 
the whole number at all the armories shall not exceed one hundred; 
and the said superintendents shall each receive as a compensation 
seventy dollars per month, and the said master armorers each lift}" 
dollars per month. 

Sec. 3. That there shall be employed an officer whose duty it shall 
be (under the direction of the Department of War) to superintend the 
receiving, safe-keeping, and distribution of the military stores of the 
United States, and to call to account all persons to whom the same may 
be intrusted. He shall receive for his compensation at the rate of one 
hundred and twenty-five dollars per month, and shall be appointed by 
the President of the United States. 

Sec. 4. That a sum not exceeding fifty-nine thousand dollars be 
appropriated for the erecting and repairing of the arsenals and mag¬ 
azines aforesaid; and a sum not exceeding twenty-two thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-five dollars for defraying the expense of the national 
armories for one year; and the further sum of three hundred and forty 
thousand dollars to be applied, under the direction of the President of 
the United States, in the purchase of arms, ammunition, and military 
stores, which said several sums shall be paid out of the duties on 
imports and tonnage to the end of the present 3 "ear. 

Sec. 5. That an annual account of the expenses of the national armo¬ 
ries be laid before the Legislature of the United States, together with 
an account of the arms made and repaired therein. 


^ The above armament was intended, as provided in section 1, for the fortifications 
at Portland, Me.; Portsmouth, N. H.; Gloucester, Salem, Marblehead, and, Boston, 
Mass.; Newport, R. I.; New London, Conn.; New York, N. Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.; 
Wilmin'^ton, Del.; Baltimore, Md.; Norfolk and Alexandria, Va.; Cape Fear River 
and Oc cock Inlet, North Carolina; Charleston and Georgetown, S. C.; and Savannah 
and Saint Mary’s, Ga. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


573 


Ac( of May 9, 1791^ {1 Stats., 367). 

AN ACT supplementary to “An act to provide for the defence of certain posts and 
harbors in the United States.” 

That the post and harbor of the cit}^ of Annapolis be fortified, . . . 

and that it shall be lawful for the President ©f the United States to 
. . . provide cannon and equipments, . . . 

Act of May m, 17H {1 Stats., 369).^ 

AN ACT prohibiting for a limited time the exportation of arms and ammunition, and 
encouraging the importation of the same. 

Sec. 1. That it shall not be lawful to export from the United States 
any cannon, muskets, pistols, bayonets, swords, cutlasses, musket balls, 
lead, bombs, grenades, gunpowder, sulphur, or saltpetre, but the expor¬ 
tation of all the aforesaid articles are hereby prohibited for and during 
the term of one year. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That all brass cannon, muskets and firelocks with bayonets 
suited to the same, pistols, swords, cutlasses, musket ball, lead, and 
gunpowder which shall be imported into the United States from any 
foreign country within the term of one year, and all sulphur and salt¬ 
petre which shall be so imported within the term of two years from 
and after the passing of this act, shall be free of duty, anything in any 
former law to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Act of February 23, 1795 {1 Stats., JA9). 

AN ACT to establish the office of purveyor of public supplies ^ 

Sec. 1. That there shall be in the Department of the Treasur}^ an 
officer to be denominated “purveyor of public supplies,” whose duty 
it shall be, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of the 
Treasuiy, to conduct the procuring and providing of all arms, military 
. . . stores, . . . and generally all articles of supply requisite 

for the service of the Uhited States. . . . 

* * * 

March 3j 1795 {1-444 )>—For public purposes only, the President was authorized 
to permit the exportation of arms, cannon, and military stores. 

Act ofAfay If,, 1798 {1 Stats., 555). 

AN ACT to enable the President of the United States to procure cannons, arms, 
and ammunition, and for other purposes. 

Sec. 1. That a sum not exceeding eight hundred thousand dollars 
shall be, and hereby is, appropriated, and shall and may be paid out of 
{iny monies not before appropriated, under the direction of the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States, to purchase, as soon as may be, a sufficient 

^ Sections 1 and 5 of this act reenacted June 14, 1797, the former extending pro¬ 
hibition to July 16, 1798, by act of April 7, 1798. Section 1 as amended further 
extended prohibition until May 14, 1800, except the exportation of sulphur and salt¬ 
peter, which is prohibited until March 3, 1801. 

^The office was abolished after May 31, 1812, by the act of March 28, 1812. 



574 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


number of cannon, also a supply of small arms and of ammunition and 
military stores, to be deposited and used as will be most conducive to 
the public safety and defence, at the discretion of the President of the 
United States. 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, in case he shall tind it impracticable to procure ))y pur¬ 
chase with certainty and dispatch proportionate to the necessities of 
the public service the cannon and arms hereby required, and any con¬ 
siderable part thereof shall be likely to be deficient, to take by lease, 
for a term of years, or by sale in fee to the United States, one or 
more suitable place or places where cannon or small arms may be 
advantaj^eously cast and manufactured, and shall and may there estab¬ 
lish founderies and armouries for the manufacture of the same, respec¬ 
tively, and shall cause suitable artisans and laborers to be there 
employed for account of the United States; and shall and may appoint 
one or more persons to superintend the said works, under the direction 
of the Department of War. And an account of the expenditures which 
shall be incurred in forming and emplo 3 dng these establishments, and 
of the cannon and arms which shall be cast and manufactured therein, 
respective^, shall be laid before the Congress of the United States, at 
their next session, and annuallv thereafter, so long as the same shall 
be continued. 

Sec. 3. That the sum of one hundred thousand dollars shall be, and 
hereby is, appropriated, and shall be paid out of any monies not before 
appropriated, for the hire, purchase, and employ of the said founderies 
and armouries, respectively, in case such establishments shall be found 
necessary, as hereinbefore provided. 

Act of May <28, 1798 (1 Stats., 558). 


AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to raise a provisional army. 
* * * 

Sec. 13. That the President of the United States shall be, and he is 
hereby, authorized to cause to be purchased and procured a quantity 
of caps, swords or sabres, and pistols with holsters, not exceeding 
what may be sufficient for four thousand cavalry, and to be deposited 
in the parts of the United States where he shalfdeem it most conven¬ 
ient for the supply of any corps of cavalry which shall be called into 
the actual service of the United States. . . . 

* * * 

Act of My 6, 1798 (1 Stats., 576). 

AN ACT providing arms for the militia throughout the United States. 

Sec. 1. That there shall be provided, at the charge and expense of 
the Government of the United States, thirty thousand stand of arms, 
which shall be deposited, by order of the President of the United 
States, at suitable places, for the purpose of being sold to the govern¬ 
ments of the respective States, or the militia thereof, under such regu¬ 
lations and at such prices as the President of the United States shall 
prescribe. 


THE ORDNANCE DERARTMENT. 


575 


Act of July 76\ 1798 (/ AfaU-.^ 810). 


AN ACT to alter and amend the Heveral acts for the eHtahlislnnent and regulation of 
the Treayury, War, and Navy Departinents. 

^ -K- *;;■ 

Sec. 3. Unit all piirclnisos and contracts for supplies or services for 
the inilitary . . . service of the Ihiited States shall be made by 

or under the direction of the chief olhcers of the Departments of War 
. . . , and all agents or contractors for supplies or services as afore¬ 

said shall render their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the 
proper department for which such supplies or services are required, 
subject, nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of 
the Treasury in manner before prescribed. 

Sec. d. That it shall be the duty of the purveyor of public supplies 
to execute all such orders as he may from time to time receive from 
the Secretaiy of War . . . relative to the j^rocuring and provid¬ 

ing of all kinds of stores and supplies; and shall render his accounts 
relative thereto to the accountants of the proper departments, which 
accounts shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the officers 
of the Treasury as aforesaid. 

Sec. 5. That the provision of the act passed on the eighth day of 
May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, entitled ‘"An act 
making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments,” and the 
act i)assed on the twenty-third day of February, one thousand seven 
hundred and ninet 3 "-tive, entitled ‘‘An act to establish the office of 
purveyor of public supplies,” so far as the same are repugnant to the 
provisions of this act, be, and the same are herelyv, repealed. 

Sec. 0. That all contracts to be made Iw virtue of this act, or of any 
law of the United States, and requiring the advance of money, or to 
be in anv manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, 
shall be deposited in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury of 
the United States within ninety days after their dates, respectively. 

Act (f2[ay 7, 1800 Stats., 61). 

AN ACT for the regulation of public arsenals and magazines. 

Se(\ 1. That the several officers who now are, or hereafter ma,v be, 
enqdoyed in the armories of the United States shall be entitled to and 
shall receive the following compensations, in addition to their pay as 
estaldished by law, to wit: A superintendent of such armory, three 
rations per day or an ecpiivalent in money; and a master armorer, 
two rations per day or an etpiivalent in money. 

* " * * 

Sec. 3. That if any artificer or Avorkman hired, retained, or employed 
in any public arsenal or armory shall, Avantonly and carelessly, break, 
im])air, or destroy any^ implements, tools, or utensils, or any^ stock, or 
materials for making guns, the pro[)ertv of the United States; or shall 
wilfully and obstinately refuse to perform the services lawfully^ assigned 
to him pursuant to his contract, eveiy such person shall forfeit a sum 
not exceeding twenty dollars for everv such act of disobedience or 
breach of contract, to be recovm’ed in^ any court having competent 
jurisdiction thereof. 

Sec. 4. That all artiticers and workmen who are or shall be employed 


576 legislativp: history of general staff of u. s. army. 


in the said armories shall be, and the}^ are hereby, exempted during 
their term of service from all military service ancl service as jurors in 
any court. 


Act of March 3^ 1803 {2 Stats, ^ ^Jf). 

AN ACT directing a detachment from the militia of the United States, and for 

erecting certain arsenals. 

* ■X- * 

Sec. 5.^ That twenty-five thousand dollars be appropriated for 
erecting, at such place or places on the Western waters as the President 
may judge most proper, one or more arsenals; and that the President 
cause the same to be furnished with such arms, ammunition, and mili¬ 
tary stores as he may deem necessary. 

Act of April 23^ 1808 (2 Stats., J 4 SO). 

AN ACT making provision for arming and equipping the whole body of the militia 

of the United States.^ 

* X- * 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to purchase sites for and erect such additional arsenals and 
manufactories of arms as he may deem expedient, under the limita¬ 
tions and restrictions now provided by law: Provided cdso, That so 
much of any law as restricts the number of workmen in the armories 
of the United States to one hundred men be, and the same hereby is, 
repealed. 

' X- X- * 

Act of March 28, 1812 {2 Stats., 696). 

AN ACT to establish a Quartermaster’s Department, and for other purposes. 

X- * * 

Sec. 17. That there shall be four conductors of artillery, who shall 
be appointed by the President alone, each of whom shall be entitled to 
the pay and emoluments of a lieutenant of artillery. 

X: X- * 


Act of May 11 ^, 1812 (2 Stats., 732). 

AN ACT for the better regulation of the ordnance. 

That there be, and hereby is, established an Ordnance Department, 
to consist of a commissary-general of ordnance, an assistant commis¬ 
sary-general, four deputy commissaries, and as many assistant deputy 
commissaries as the President of the United States may think neces- 
saiy, not exceeding eight. 

^ Repealed by section 7 of act of April 18, 1806 (2-383). 

2 The organic law (May 8, 1792, 1-271) for establishing a uniformed militia through¬ 
out the United States provided that every man enrolled provide himself with suit¬ 
able arms; by the act of July 6, 1798 (1-576)5 30,000 stands of arms were to be provided 
at public expense and sold to the State governments. The above act regulated the 
issues of arms to States and Territories in proportion to the number of the effective 
militia in each. 




THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


577 


Sec. 2. That the Comiiiissarv-CJeiieriil he authorized, from time to 
time, to employ as many wheelwrights, carria^^e makers, Idaeksmiths, 
and lal)opers as the public service may, in his judoinent, require. 

Sec. 3. That the commissary-g-eneral of ordnance shall he entitled 
to the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of infantry, and he fur¬ 
ther allowed, at the rate of live hundred dollars ])er year and four 
rations per day, for clerks in his department; the assistant commissary- 
general of ordnance shall he entitled to the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a major of infantry, with three additional rations per day; the 
deput}'^ commissaries of ordinince shall he entitled to the rank, ])ay, 
and emoluments of a captain of infantry, with two additional rations 
per day and forage for one hoi'se; the assistant deputies shall haye 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of a second lieutenant of infantry, with 
one additional ration per day. 

Sec. 4. That a master wheelwright and carriage maker and a master 
blacksmith he allowed thirty dollars each per month and one ration 
and one-half of a ration per day; that any other wheelwrights, carriage 
makers, and blacksmiths he allowed each sixteen dollars per month 
and one ration and one-half of a ration per day; that the lal)orers each 
be allowed nine dollars per month and one ration per day. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the commissaiy-general of 
ordnance to direct the inspection and proying of all pieces of ordnance, 
cannon balls, shells, and shot procured for the use of the Army of the 
United States, and to direct the construction of all carriages and every 
ap])aratus for ordnance for garrison and field service and all ammu¬ 
nition wagons, pontons, and traveling forges; also the direction of 
laboratories, the inspection and proving the public powder, and the 
preparing all kinds of ammunition for garrison and held service, and 
shall, half yearly, examine all ordnance carriages, ammunition, and 
apparatus in the respective fortresses, magazines, and arsenals and 
cause the same to be preserved and kej)!: in good order. 

Sec.' h. That the commissary-general of ordnance shall execute all 
orders issued by the Secretary for the Department of War in convey¬ 
ing all ordnance, ammunition, and apparatus to the I’es'pective armies, 
garrisons, magazines, and arsenals, and in time of war he shall execute 
all orders of any general officer, commanding in an army or garrison, 
for the supply of ordnance, ammunition, carriages, i)ontons, forges, 
furnaces, or apparatus for garrison, held, or siege service, and for¬ 
ward the same without delay and in good condition. 

Sec. 7. That the commissary-general of ordnance shall, half yearly, 
transmit to the Department of War a correct return of all ordnance, 
ammunition, military stores, and effects in the resi)cctive gsirrisons, 
arsenals, magazines, posts, and camps, with a statement of their order, 
tpiality, and condition; and also what may be necessary to keej) iq) an 
ample supply of each and every article in the Ordnance Department, 
and shall in all things faithfully and without delay execute the orders 
of the Secretary for the Department of War touching the same. 

Sec. 8. That the superintendents of military stores, keepers of mag¬ 
azines and arsenals, shall, half yearly, make correct returns to the com¬ 
missary-general of ordnance of all military stores that they res])ec- 
tively have in charge; and that the assistant commissary-general of 
ordnance, the deputy commissaries, and assistant de])uties shall faith¬ 
fully and without delay execute all orders that shall be issued by the 
Secretary for the Department of War, the Commanding (ieneral, in 
time of war, of any corps, camp, or garrison, or of the commissary- 

S. Doc. 223-37 



578 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


of ordnance, in their respective departments. In" virtue of 

this act. 

Sec. 9. That the commissary-general of ordnance shall make a cor¬ 
rect report of the artiticers and laborers from time to time employed 
by him, and transmit the same to the Adjutant-General. 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 1813 {2 Stats., 816). ' 

AN ACT the better to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, and 
for the accountability of persons entrusted with the same. 

That the third section of the act entitled ‘U4n act to provide for the 
erecting and repairing of arsenals and magazines, and for other pur¬ 
poses,” passed on the second day of April, one thousand seven hundred 
and ninety-four, be, and the same is hereby, repealed from and after 
the thirt 3 ^-first dav of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen. 

Sec. 2. [That the superintendent-general of militaiy supplies shall] 
prescribe the forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and 
supplies purchased, on hand, distributed, used, or sold, to l)e rendered 
by the commissaiy of ordnance and officers in his department. 

Sec. 3. That . . . the commissaiy of ordnance, his assistants 

and deputies . . . who shall have received, or mav be entrusted 

with aiy" stores or supplies of anv description whatever for the use of 
the Arm}" of the United States, and of the volunteers or militia in 
their service, shall render quarterly accounts of the disposition and 
state of all such stores and supplies to the superintendent aforesaid, 
and shall also make such other returns respecting the same, and at such 
other times as the Secretary for the Mar Department may prescribe: 
Provided, however. That the accounts and returns thus rendered shall 
relate to the articles of supply only Avhich may have been received and 
disposed of or as may remain on hand, and shall not embrace the spe¬ 
cie accounts for monies disbursed by such officers . . . ; which 

specie accounts shall be rendered as heretofore to the accountant for 
the War Department. 

Sec. T. That the officers . . . who may receive monies in 

advance from the Wjir Department shall i*ender quarterly accounts to 
the accountant of the said Department of theii* specie receipts and dis¬ 
bursements, and shall, moreover, make such other monthly summary 
statements thereof to the Secretary for the said Department as he may 
prescribe. ... 

* * * 

Act of March J, 1813^ {2 Stats. ^ 810). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That the number of assistant deputy commissaries of ord¬ 
nance shall not exceed sixteen, and that they shall, respectively, be 
entitled to the brevet rank and to the pay and emoluments of a first 
lieutenant of infantry. 

* -x- * 


[The superintendent-general of military siqijdies, authorized to he appointed under 
this aet, was not a staff ofiicer hut a civilian witli a salary of S3,000 per annum. His 
dutiesyvere to keep j)ro])er accounts of all military stores and supplies of every de- 
scri})tion purchased for the Army, the volunteers, aud the militia, and to prescribe 
fori]js of all the returns and accounts of such stores and supplies, etc. 




THE OEDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


579 


Sec. 11. That all letters and packets to and from the . . . com¬ 
missary-general of ordnance . . . which relate to their official 

duties shall be free from postage. 

* * * 


Act of Augmt 18IS {S /Statf<., 76). 

AN ACT supplementary to the aet entitled “An act for the better regulation of the 

ordnance. ’ ’ 

That in addition to the present number allowed by law, as many 
deput}^ commissaries of ordnance ma}" be appointed, not exceeding live, 
a.s the President of the United States shall deem necessary to the pub¬ 
lic service, who shall be entitled to the same rank, pay, emoluments, 
rations, and forage as are now provided by the act to which this is a 
supplement. 


Act of March SO, 1816 {6 Stats., 11S)1 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of th^ United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the commissary-general of ordnance may emplov in 
his department, besides blacksmiths and wheelwrights, other mechanics, 
such as the public service may require, who shall, together with the 
said blacksmiths and wheelwrights, be mustered under the general 
denomination of artiticers; and such artificers, being hereafter or hav¬ 
ing been heretofore enlisted to serve for the term of live years or dur¬ 
ing the Avar, shall be entitled to the same allowance of clothing as is or 
may be provided for the soldiers of the Army. 

Sec. 17. That the laborers who may be hereafter enlisted to serve 
in the Ordnance Department for the term of live years, or during the 
war, shall be entitled to a bounty of twenty-five dollars in money and 
the same annual alloAvanceof clothing as is or may be provided for the 
soldiers of the Army. 

* * * 

Act of February 8, 1815 {S States., 20S). 

AN ACT for the better regulation of the Ordnance Department. 

That from and after the passage of this act, the Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, 
ten captains, ten first lieutenants, ten second lieutenants, and ten third 
lieutenants. 

Sec. 2. That the colonel or senior officer of the Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment is authorized to enlist for the service of that department, for 
live years, as many master armorers, master carriage makers, master 
blacksmiths, artificers, armorers, carriage makers, blacksiniths, and 
laborers as the public service, in his judgment, under the direction of 
the Secretary for the Department of War, may require. 

Sec. 3. Tliat it shall be the duty of the colonel of the Ordnance 

1 Section 3 provides for the assignment of one of the second lieutenants in each 
company for the duty of receiving and accounting for all ammunition, implements, 
and cannon furnished the company by the Ordnance Department. 




580 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


D('partment to direct the inspection and proving of all pieces of ord¬ 
nance, cannon balls, shot, shells, small arms, and side arms, and equip¬ 
ments procured for the use of the armies of the United States, and to 
direct the construction of all cannon and carriages and every imple¬ 
ment and apparatus for ordnance, and all ammunition wagons, travelling 
forges, and artificers’ wagons, the inspection and proving of powder, 
and the preparation of all kinds of ammunition and ordnance stores. 
And it shall also be the duty of the colonel or senior officer of the 
Ordnance Depai tment to furnish estimates, and, under the direction of 
the Secretary for the Department of War, to make contracts and pur¬ 
chases, for procuring the necessary supplies of arms, equipments, 
ordnance, and ordnance stores. 

Sec. 4. That the colonel of the Ordnance Department shall organize 
and attach to regiments, corps, or garrisons such number of artificers, 
with proper tools, carriages, and apparatus, under such regulations 
and restrictions relative to their government and number as, in his 
judgment, with the approbation of the Secretary for the Department 
of War, may be considered necessary. 

Sec. 5. That the colonel of the Ordnance Department, or senior 
officefof that department of any district, shall execute all orders of 
the Secretary for the Department of War, and, in time of war, the 
orders of any general or field officer commanding any army, garrison, 
or detachment, for the supply of all arms, ordnance, ammunition, car¬ 
riages, forges, and apparatus for garrison, field, or siege service. 

Sec. 6 . That the keepers of all magazines and arsenals shall, quar¬ 
terly, or oftener if so directed, and in such manner as directed by the 
colonel of the Ordnance Department, make correct returns to the 
colonel or senior officer of the Ordnance Department of all ordnance, 
arms, and ordnance stores they may have in charge. 

Sec. 7. That the costs of repairs or damages done to arms, equip¬ 
ments, or implements in the use of the armies of the United States 
shall be deducted from the pay of any officer or soldier in whose care 
or use the said arms, equipments, or implements were when the said 
damage occurred: Provided^ The said damages were occasioned by the 
abuse or negligence of the said officer or soldier. And it is hereby 
made the duty of every officer commanding regiments, corps, garri¬ 
sons, or detachments to make, once every two months, or oftener if 
so directed, a written report to the colonel of the Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment, stating all damage to arms, equipments, and implements belonging 
to his command, noting those occasioned by negligence or abuse, and 
naming the officer or soldier by whose negligence or abuse the said 
damages were occasioned. 

Sec. 8. That the colonel of the Ordnance Department shall make 
half yearly to the War Department, or oftener, if the Secretary for 
that Department shall so direct, a correct report of the officers and all 
artificers and laborers in his department; also of all ordnance, arms, 
military stores, implements, and apparatus of eveiy description, and 
in such form as the Secretary for the Department of War shall direct. 

Sec. 9. That to insure system and uniformity in the different public 
armories they are hereby [)laced under the direction of the Ordnance 
Department. And the colonel of the Ordnance Department, under the 
direction of the Secretary for the D(q)artment of War, is hereby 
authorized to establish depots of arms, ammunition, and ordnance stores 
in such parts of the United States and in such numbers as may be 
deemed necessary. 


THE ORDNANCE DEEARTMENT. 


581 


Sec. 10. That the colonel of the Ordnance Department, under the 
direction of the Secretary for the Department of War, is liereby 
authorized to draw up a system of regulations for tlie o-overnment of 
the Ordnance Department, forms of returns and reports, and for the 
uniformit}^ of manufactures of all arms, ordnance, ordnance stores, 
implenients, and apparatus, and for the repairing and better preserv^a- 
tion of the same. 

Sec. 11. That the pay, emoluments, and allowances for the officers 
of the Ordnance Department shall be the same as the pay, emoluments, 
and allowances now allowed to officers of similar grades, respectively, 
in the artillery of the United States. And that the pay of a master 
armorer shall be thirty dollars per month and one and a half rations 
per day; of a master carriage maker, thirty dollars per month and 
one and a half rations per day; the pay of armorers, carriage makers, 
or blacksmiths, each sixteen dollars per month and one and a half 
rations per day; the pay of artificers, thirteen dollars per month and 
one ration per day; and the pay of laborers, nine dollars per month 
and one ration per day; and to all of the said workmen, artificers, and 
laborers the same clothing and other allowances as are allowed to 
privates of infantry in the Army of the United States, except clothing 
to the master workmen. 

Sec. 12. That the President of the United States is hereby author¬ 
ized to continue in the service, under this act, all the officers of the 
Ordnance Department in service on the passage of the same, or to 
transfer them to other corps of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. Id. That the act passed May the fourteenth, one thousand 
eight hundred and twelve, entitled '■'An act for the better regulation 
of the Ordnance Department.” and the sections of any other acts com¬ 
ing within the purview of any of the sections of this act be, and the 
same are hereby, repealed. 

May 17, 1815. — . . . The acts of Congress establishing the Ordnance Depart- 

men tj . . . remain in force; . . . {General Orders, A. and I. G.^s Office.) 

Act of April W, 1816 (3 Stats., 323). 

AN ACT to increase the compensation of the superintendents of the maniifaetories 
of arms at Springfield and Harper’s Ferry. 

That in addition to the pay and rations as at present fixed of the 
superintendents of the manufactories of arms at Springfield and Har¬ 
per’s Ferry they shall receive thirty dollars per month and one ration 
per day 

Act of3farch 2, 1821 {3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the Ordnance Department shall be merged in the artil¬ 
lery; and that the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to select from the regiments of artillery such officers as 
may be necessary to perform ordnance duties, who, while so detached, 
shall receive the pav and emoluments now received by ordnance officers, 
and shall be subject only to the orders of the War Department; and 
that the number of enlisted men in the Ordnance Department be 
reduced to fifty-six. 


582 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAEE OE U. S. ARMY. 

Acl of March 3, 1823 {3 Stats., 788). 

AN ACT to establish a national armory on the Western waters. 

That tho President of the United States he, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to employ a skilful engineer or officer of the Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment, with such other person or persons as he may judge proper, to 
examine the most suitable site for a national armory on the Western 
waters. . . . 


Act of March 3, 1825 4 Stats., 127). 

AN ACT to authorize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military stores. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to cause to be sold any ordnance, arms, ammunition, or other 
military stores . . . which, upon proper inspection or survey, 

shall appear to be damaged or otherwise unsuitable for the public 
service whenever, in his opinion, the sale of such unserviceable stores 
will be advantageous to the public service. 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or survey of the unserviceable stores 
shall be made by an inspector-general, or such other officer or officers 
as the Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose; and the sales 
shall be made under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed 
b}^ the Secretary of War. 

May 18, 1826 {4-173). —In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or 
of damage to such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, 
to be charged against the responsible officer unless he can show that the deficiency 
or damage was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

Act of May 20, 1826 {If Stats., 178). 

AN ACT concerning the United States arsenal in Georgia. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause 
to be purchased, in the vicinity of Augusta, a suitable site for an 
United States arsenal and to be erected thereon such buildings as may 
l)e necessary, in lieu of those at this time occupied for such purpose: 
Provided, Such site can be obtained upon reasonable terms, and with 
a proper regard to health and to the public conveniences: And pro¬ 
vided also. That the consent of the proper authorities of the State of 
Georgia shall be given thereto and the jurisdiction over the same be 
ceded to the United States. 

* * * 

Act of ALay 20, 1826 4 Stats., 179). 

AN ACT to authorize the Secretary of the War Department to purchase a site for an 

arsenal at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, and to provide for the erection of an 

arsenal on the same. 

That the Secretary of the War Department be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to purchase, as soon as it can be effected on reasonable terms, 
a site for an arsenal at or in the vicinity of St. Louis, Missouri; and 
to cause to be erected such an arsenal on the same as may be deemed 
proper for the safe-keeping of the arms and munitions of the United 
States on that frontier. . . . 

March 3, 1827 {4, 241). —Secretary of War was authorized to pundiase a site for an 
arsenal in the town of Augusta, Me. 


THK OKDJSANCE DEPARTMENT. 


58B 


Act of May ms 4 Stats. , SOJf). 

AN ACT authorizing the establishment of an arsenal on the waters of Mobile or 

Pensacola bays. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and 
required to procure, as soon as it can be effected on reasonai)le terms, 
a site for an arsenal on the waters of Mobile or Pensacola bays, and to 
cause to be erected thereon such an arsenal as may be deemed proper 
for the safe-keeping of the arms and munitions of war of the United 
States for the Mexican Gulf frontier. . . . 

Act of April 5 ,1832 4 Stats., 504). 

AN ACT providing for the organization of the Ordnance Department. 

That from and after the passage of this act the Ordnance Deqjart- 
ment shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, 
and ten captains, and as many enlisted men as the public service may 
require, not exceeding two hundred and fifty. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of War be authorized to select from the 
sergeants of the line of the Army who shall have faithfully served 
eight years in the service, four years of which in the grade of non¬ 
commissioned officer, as many ordnance-sergeants as the service may 
recpiire, not to exceed one to each military post, whose duty it shall 
be to receive and preserve the ordnance, arms, ammunition, and 
other military stores at the post, under the direction of the command¬ 
ing officer of the same, and under such regulations as shall be pre¬ 
scribed by the Secretaiy of \Var, and who shall receive for their 
services five dollars per month in addition to their pa}^ in the line. 

Sec. 3. That the first section of the a(‘t passed on the eighth of Feb¬ 
ruary, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, entitled “An act for 
the better regulation of the Ordnance Department,” and so much of 
the second section of the act entitled “An act to reduce and fix the 
military peace establishment of the United States,” passed the second 
of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, as provides 
for one supernumerary captain to each regiment of artillerv, to per¬ 
form ordnance duty, and so much of the fourth section of the same 
act as merges the Ordnance Department in the artillery and reduces 
the number of enlisted men be, and the same are hereby, repealed: 
Provided^ That nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as 
to divest the President of the United States of authority to select 
from the regiments of artilleiy such number of lieutenants as may be 
necessary for the performance of the duties of the Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment. 

Sec. T. That all officers and enlisted men authorized by this act 
shall be subject to the Rules and Articles of War, and that the officers 
shall receive the pay and emoluments now allowed, or which may 
hereafter be allowed, to artillery officers. 

Act of June I 4 ., 1836 (5 Stats.., J7). 

AN ACT establish an arsenal of (;onstrnction in the State of North Carolina. 

That the sum of forty-five thousand dollars be, and the same is 
hereby, appropriated . . . towards the purchase of a site and 

the biiilding of an arsenal of deposit and general construction near 
the town of Fayetteville, in the State of North Carolina. 


584 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 


Act of July 18SG {5 Stats., 77). 


AN ACT making appropriations for certain fortifications of tlie United States for the 
year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, and for other purposes. 

. . . For the purchase of sites, and the construction of apenals, 

for the deposit of arms in Arkansas, Missouri, and at Memphis, Ten¬ 
nessee, forty-two thousand two hundred and fifty-six dollars: Provided, 
ddiat the coht of such arsenal shall not exceed fourteen thousand dollars 
each. 

* * * 

Act of Jidy 5,1838 (5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to add to the Ordnance Department, whenever he may deem 
it expedient to increase the same, by and with the advice of the Senate, 
two majors; and that he be further authorized to transfer ten first lieu¬ 
tenants and ten second lieutenants from the artillery to the Ordnance 
Department, and that the pay and emoluments of the officers of the 
said department shall be the same as those allowed to the officers of the 
regiment of dragoons. 

Sec. 14. That so much of the fourth section of the act passed fifth 
of April, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, for the organization of the 
Ordnance Department as authorized the officers of ordnance to receive 
the same pay and emoluments now allowed artillery officers shall be 
construed to include the ten dollars per month additional pay to every 
officer in the actual command of a company as compensation for the duties 
and responsibilities with respect to clothing, arms, and accoutrements, 
of the compan}^ under the authority of the second section of the act 
passed second of March, eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, giving 
further compensation to the captains and subalterns of the Army of 
the United States in certain cases: Provided, That the officers of the 
Ordnance Department claiming the compensation for such duties and 
responsibilities shall have been actually in the command of enlisted 
men of the ordnance equal to a company of artillery, and thereby 
incurred the aforesaid responsibilities. 

* * * 

Sec. 21. That all letters and packages on public business to and 
from . . . the colonel of ordnance . . . shall be free from 

postage. 

* * * 

Sec. 26 . That the compensation hereafter to be allowed to such 
ordnance storekeepers as shall be designated as paymasters shall not 
exceed the pay and emoluments of a captain of ordnance. 

* * * 

Sec. 32. That the superintendents of the armories at Springfield and 
Harper’s Ferry shall hereafter receive each the sum of fifteen hun¬ 
dred dollars and rations, fuel, and quarters as at present authorized; 
and that the master armorers of the same shall each receive the sum 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


585 


oi iwelvc luindrod dollars, and fuel, and (Quarters as at present author¬ 
ized’ and that the aforesaid sums and allowanees to the ohieers afore¬ 
said shall be in full compensation for their services, respectively. 

* -x* * 

Aei of July 7, 1838 {5 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled “An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purposes,” approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

* * * 

Fourth, That the number of lieutenants authorized by said act to 
be added and transferred to the Ordnance Department shall be limited 
to twelve. 

* * * 

Act of August ^3, 181^2 {5 Stats., 612). 

AN ACT respecting the organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the offices of the superintendents of the armories at 
Springfield and at Harper’s Ferry shall be, and the same are hereby, 
abolished, and the duties thereof shall be performed by such officers of 
the Ordnance Corps as shall be designated by the President; and that 
from and after the first day of 0(“tober next the master armorers at 
the national armories shall receive each twelve hundred dollars annually, 
payable quarter yearly; and the inspectors and clerks each eight hun¬ 
dred dollars per annum; and the paymasters and military storekeepers 
at the armories and at the arsenals of construction at Pittsburg, Water- 
vliet, and Washington City shall receive each twelve hundred and fifty 
dbllars annually, payable in like manner, and the said paymasters and 
military storekeepers shall give security for the faithful discharge of 
their duties in such sum as the Secretary of War shall prescribe. And 
the two military storekeepers, authorized by the act of second of 
March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, shall receive each 
twelve hundred and lift}" dollars per annum. And no military store¬ 
keeper at arsenals shall, after the first day of October next, receive as 
pay or emoluments beyond eight hundred dollars per annum besides 
quarters actually provided and occupied as such, and the number author¬ 
ized to be thus employed is hereby limited to ten; and all other offices 
of military storekeepers are hereby abolished and discontinued on and 
after said first day of October, and the officers hereby dismissed shall 
be allowed three months’ pay in addition to the pay and emoluments to 
which they may be entitled on that day. And none of the above-named 
officers, and no officers at the armories, of any grade whatever, shall 
hereafter receive emoluments of any kind, or any compensation or 
commutation beyond their stipulated pay in money, except quarters 
actually provided for and occupied by such officers. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That a competent person may be employed by the Ordnance 
Bureau, under the direction of the Secretary of War, for such time 


r)8() LEGISLATIVE IIISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


as may be necessary, to superintend the manufacture of iron cannon 
at the several foundries where such cannon may be made under con¬ 
tracts with the United States, whose pay and einoluments shall not 
exceed those of a major of ordnance during the time he shall be so 
employed, to be paid out of the appropriations for armament of forti¬ 
fications; and for the services rendered in such superintendence since 
the first da}^ of March, eighteen hundred and forty-one, under the 
authority of the War Department, the same compensation shall be 
allowed as herein provided. 

* * * 


Act of June 18, 18{9 Stats., 17). 


AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled “An act providing the prosecution of the 
existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico,” and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 


Sec. 11. That the colonel or senior officer of the Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment is authorized to enlist, for the service of that department, as 
many master armorers, master carriage makers, master blacksmiths, 
artificers, armorers, carriage makers, blacksmiths, and laborers as the 
public service, in his judgment, under the directions of the Secretary 
for the Department of War, may require. 


Act of March S, 18IJ {9 Stats., 18J). 

AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general officers, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the President of the United States be, and is herein^, 
authorized to add to the Ordnance Department, whenever he shall deem 
it expedient to increase the same, two captains and six first lieuten¬ 
ants, who shall be entitled to receive the same pay and allowances as 
officers of those grades, respectively, now belonging to that depart¬ 
ment, to be disbanded at the close of the war, 

* * * 

Sec. 22. That all the officers appointed . . . under this act 

shall be discharged at the close of the war with Mexico, except the 
officers of the ordnance authorized by the sixteenth section, . 

July 10,1848 {9-246). —Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted men 
of the Ordnance and other corps of the Army. 

Resolution of August 10, 18If {9 Stats., SIfi). 

JOINT RESOLUTION concerning certain portions of the Marine and Ordnance Corps. 

That . . . the artificers and laborers of the Ordnance Corps 

serving in said war [Mexican war] be placed, in all respects, as to 
bounty land and other remuneration, in addition to ordinary pay, on 
a footing with the officers, noncommissioned officers, privates^ and 
musicians of the Army: Provided, That this remuneration shall be in 
lieu of prize money and all other extra allowances. 

* -X- * 

March 2, 1849 {9-418 ).—Arms and ammunition from the public stores may be 
ii^sued to emigrants to the Territories of Oregon, California, or New Mexico. 


THE OKDNANCE DEl'AKTMENT. 


587 


Act of March 3^ 18Jf) {9 Stats., 370). 

AN ACT makin^^ appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the military storekeeper at Watertown Arsenal, Massa¬ 
chusetts, be allowed, from this first day of October, eighteen hundred 
and forty-two, the same compensation as is authorized by the act of 
the twenty-third August, eighteen hundred and forty-two, to be 
paid to the storekeepers at the Washington, Pittsburg, and Watervliet 
arsenals; . . . 

* ■ * ■ * 


Act of Septemher 28, 1860 (9 Stats., 60fj. 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one. 

* * * 

. That the principal assistant in the Ordnance Bureau of the 
War Department shall receive a compensation not less than that of 
the person employed at the foundaries, under the fifth section of the 
act approved twenty-third of August, eighteen hundred and forty-two, 
from and after the date thereof. 

Sec. 3. That the moneys w^hich may be received by the proper 
officers of the Army for the sale of . . . military stores and other 

supplies be, and they are hereby, exempted from the operation of the 
act of the third of March, eighteen hundred and forty-nine, entitled 
“An act requiring all moneys received from the customs and all other 
sources to be paid into the Treasury without abatement or reduction.” 
* * * 

Sec. 4. That the military storekeeper at Little Ro(*k Arsenal, 
Arkansas, be allowed, from the first day or October, eighteen hundred 
and forty-two, to the twenty-fifth day of October, eighteen hundred 
and forty-nine, the same compensation as is authorized by the act of 
the twenty-third of August, eighteen hundred and forty-two, to be 
paid to the storekeepers at the Washington, Pittsburg, and Watervliet 
arsenals, . . . 

* -X- * 

March 3, 1851 {9-618 ).— Authorizes erection of two powder magazines on the 
Jefferson Barracks reservation. 

Act of Alar ch 3, 1863 {10 Stats., 2111).. 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight Inmdred and fifty-four. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That the salary of the military storekeepers of 

the Ordnance Department in Oregon, California, and New Mexico shall 
hereafter be $1,250 per annum. 

* * * 

. . . Praoided, That from and after the first day of July next 

the act of Congress approved August twenty-third, eighteen hundred 
and forty-two, be so modified that the President may, if in his opinion 
the public interest demands it, place over any of the armories a super- 


588 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 


intendont who does not belong to the Army; . . . ; and the Sec¬ 

retary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized to abolish such of the 
arsenals of the United States as in his judgment may lie useless or 
unnecessary. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of War be directed to report to Congress 
whether in his opinion it would not be more economical, proper, and 
advisable to cause all the arms of the United States to be made by 
contract. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That whenever any lieutenant of the . . . ordnance 

corps shall have served fourteen years’ continuous service as lieuten¬ 
ant, he shall be promoted to the rank of captain: Provided^ That the 
whole number of officers in . . . said corps shall not be increased 

beyond the number now fixed by law: And provided further^ That no 
officer shall be promoted before those who rank him in his corps. 

* * * 

Act of August 5, 185{10 Stats. ^ 676). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five. 

. . . Provided., That so much of all laws heretofore passed which 

authorized the appointment of military officers to superintend the 
operations at the national armories be, and the same is hereby, 
repealed; and from and after the passage of this act it shall be the 
duty of the President of the United States, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, to appoint a competent and well-qualified civil¬ 
ian as superintendent at each of said armories. 

* * * 

March 3, 1855 {10-635 ).—Compensation of the civil superintendents of national 
armories to be $2,500 without perquisites or allowances of any kind, quarters 
excepted, section 7, annual distribution of arms to the several States to be made 
according to number of Senators and Representatives in Congress. 

Augml 30, 1856 {11-147 ).—Erection authorized of suitable magazines and other 
arsenal buildings in Texas, California, Washington or Oregon Territory, and New 
Mexico. 

Act of March 3, 1857 {11 Stats., WO). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the master armorers at the national armories shall 
receive fifteen hundred dollars each per annum. 

* * * 

Act of June 12, 1858 {11 Stats., 332). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine. 

* * * 

For the alteration of old arms so as to make them breech-loading 
arms, upon a model to be selected and approved by a board of ordnance 
officers . . . : Provided, That . . . not exceeding five thou¬ 

sand dollars may be expended under the direction of the Secretary of 
War, and at his discretion, in applying to the old or new arms any 
recent improvement in the mode of priming. 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


589 


Act of June 23, 1860 {12 Stats., 91). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the departments of the Government, except for personal serv¬ 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of articles or performance of the service, shall be made by advertising 
a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting the same. When 
immediatedelivery or performance is required by the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are 
usually bought and sold or such services engaged between individuals. 
No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be 
authorized by law, or be under an appropriation adequate to its ful¬ 
fillment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, sub¬ 
sistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, 
shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. No arms, nor 
military supplies whatever, which arc of a patented invention, shall be 
purchased, nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, 
unless the same shall be authorized by law, and the appropriation 
therefor explicitly set forth that it is for such patented invention. 

* * * 

Act of February 21, 1861 {12 Stats., Ilf). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thirtieth 
of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled “An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of eTune, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one,” approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented firearms, as to which 
the said section shall still be in force. 

* * * 

Marche, 1861 [12-208).—The. St. Louis Arsenal to be removed to Jefferson Bar¬ 
racks. [This act was repealed by the act of February 20, 1865 (13-432).] 

Act of Alarch 2, 1861 {12 Stats., 21Jf). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services 
in any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal 
services, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate 
delivery of the article or articles or performance of the service, shall 
be made by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals 
respecting the same. When immediate delivery or performance is 
required b}^ the public exigency, the articles or service required ma}^ 
be procured by open purchase or contract at the place and in the 
manner in which such articles are usuaiiy bought and sold or such 


590 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


services engaged between individuals. No contract or purchase shall 
hereafter be made unless the same be authorized b}" law or be under 
an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War . 
Departments, for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or trans¬ 
portation, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the 
current year. And the third section of the act entitled ‘‘An act mak¬ 
ing appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the year ending the thirtieth [twenty-third] of 
June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one,” shall be, and the same is 
herein^, repealed. 

July 10, 1861 {12-255 ).—Remits duties on arms imported between May 1, 1861, 
and January 1, 1862, on proof that they were intended for the use of the troops of 
any State aiding in suppressing the insurrection against the United States. 


Act of August J, 1861 {12 Stats. ^ 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. . . . And there shall be added to the Ordnance Depart¬ 

ment of the United States Arm}^ as now organized, one Chief of Ord¬ 
nance with the rank, pay, and emoluments of the Quartermaster-General 
of the Army; one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, and six second lieu¬ 
tenants; the field officers to be appointed by selection from the officers 
of the Army, and the second lieutenants from the graduates of the 
United States Military Academy by transfers from the engineers, or 
the topographical engineers, or the artillery. 

* * * 


Act of August 6^ 1861 {12 Stats., 317). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Engineer and Topographical Pingineer Corps, 

and for other purposes. 


* * ■X- 

Sec. 5. That so much of the first section of the act approved August 
fifth, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, as authorizes the appointment 
of civilians to superintend the national armories be, and the same is 
hereby, repealed, and that the superintendents of these armories shall 
be appointed hereafter from officers of the Ordnance Department. 

June 2, 1862 {12-411 ).—Secretary of AVar to furnish officers appointed by him to 
make contracts, with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

Act of July 5, 1862 {12 Stats., SOS). 

ANeACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and additional appropriations 
for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the enlisted men of the Ordnance Department now 
designated as master workmen shall hereafter be designated and mus¬ 
tered as sergeants; those now designated as armorers, carriage makers, 
and blacksmiths shall be designated and mustered as corporals; those 


THE ORDNANCE DEJ^AllTMENT. 


591 


nowdesigriatod as artificers shall bedesi^'iiated and inustcred as privates 
ot the hrst class, and thos:e now designated as laborers shall be desig¬ 
nated and inustered as privates of the second class: Provided, That the 
})ay, rations, and clothing now authorized l)y law to the respective 
grades of enlisted ordnance men shall not be chaimed. 

Act of duly 11, 1869. {12 Stats., 637). 

AN ACT for the establishment of certain national arsenals. 

^ 1 hat there shall be, and here!)}" is, established a national arsenal at 
Columbus, in the State of Ohio, at Indianapolis, in the State of Indiana, 
and on Rock Island, in the State of Illinois, for the deposit and repair 
of arms and other munitions of war. 

* * -X- 

J(dy 17, 1862 {12-594 ).—Contractors for arms, ammunition, etc., guilty of fraud 
to he subject to the rules and regulations governing the Army. This provision was 
extended by section 7 of the act of July 7, 1864 (13-394), to apply to their agents and 
all inspectors of military supidies. 


Act of July 17.1862 {12 Stats., 597). 

AN ACT to ameiid the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and I’ejxd invasions, approved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
})ur})oses. 

* * * 

Se(\ Io. . . . The senior officer of artillery in each army corps 

shall, in addition to his other duties, act as chief of artillery and ord¬ 
nance at the headtpiarters of the corps. 

* * * 

Act of ALarch 3, 1863 {12 Stats.,7If). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance 
Department, and for other })urposes. 

* * -x- 

Se(l d. That there shall be added to the Ordnance Department one 
lieutenant-colonel, two majors, eight captains, eight first lieutenants, 
the additional officers herein authorized to be appointed by promotion 
so far as the present officers of the Ordnance Corps will permit, and 
the residue to be appointed by transfers from other regiments or corps 
of the Army: Provided, That no officer of the Ordnance Department 
below the rank of a field officer shall be promoted or commissioned to 
a higher grade, nor shall any officer of the Army be commissioned as 
an ordnance officer until he shall have passed a satisfactoiy examina¬ 
tion before a board of not less than three ordnance officers, senior to 
him in rank; and should such officer fail on such examination, he shall 
be suspended from promotion or appointment for one year, when he 
may be reexamined before a like board; and if, upon such second 
examination, an ordnance officer fail, he shall be dismissed from the 
service, and if an officer of the Army he shall not be commissioned. 

-X- -X- -X- 

Sec. 12. That the increase of rank of officers and in the number of 
officers provided for in this act shall continue only during the exist- 


f)\)2 LP:aiSLATIVE HISTOKY OF GFJNKKAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 


ence of the ]n'eseiit rebellion; iiiid thoreaftei- the yeveral officers pro¬ 
moted under this act shall hav^e the respective raidi they would have 
had if this act had not passed, and the number shall be reduced ])y the 
President to the number authorized by law prior to the passage of 
this act. 

Aj)ril 19, 1864 {13-60 ).—The Secretary of War was authorized to take and hold all 
the lands and shores of the island of Rock Island, Illinois, to he kept as a military 
reservation. (Note to July 11, 1862, 12-537.) 

Act of July 186G {Uf Stats.., 33^2). 

AN ACT to increase and tix the military j>eace estahlishment of the United States. 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 21. That the Ordnance Department of the Army shall consist 
of the same number of officers and enlisted men as now authorized by 
law, and the officers shall be of the following grades, viz: One ])riga- 
dier-general, three colonels, four lieutenant-colonels, ten majors, 
twenty captains, sixteen first lieutenants, and ten second lieutenants, 
with the same pay and emoluments as now provided by law; and thir¬ 
teen ordnance storekeepers, of whom a number not exceeding six may 
be appointed and authorized to act as paymasters at armories and 
arsenals. The ordnance storekeeper and paymaster at the national 
armory at Springtield shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
a major of cavalry, and all other ordnance storekeepers shall have the 
rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of cavailry, and two-thirds 
of the . . . ordnance storekeepers to be appointed under this 

. . . section of this act shall l)e selected from volunteer officers 

or soldiers who have performed meritorious service in the Army of 
the United States during the late rebelliom 

* * -X- 

Sec. 28. That the . . . Chief of Ordnance shall hereafter })e 

appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong. 

-x- * * 


Act (J Afarch 2, 1867 Stats., f22). 


AN ACT to provide for a temporary increase of the pay of officers in the Army of 
the United States, and for other purposes. 

* •X- * 

Sec. T. That (excepting the ordnance storekeeper and paymaster at 

the Springtield Armory, who has the rank, pay, and allowances of a 
major of cavalry) all storekeepers of the Army shall hereafter have 
the rank, pay, and allowances of captains of cavalry. . . . 

•X- * -X- 

March 2, 1867 {14-487 ).—Section 3 autliorizes a Iward of six officers (three from the 
Army) to determine by practical tests what increase of strength or variation of form 
is necessary to enable our best stone forts to resist the heaviest guns. 

March 2, 1867 {14-571 ).—Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such i)ersons in pavment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

March, 24 , 1868 {15-250 ).—Captured ordnance and imi)lements maybe issued to 
the several national asylums for the purpose of liring salutes; also such small arms 
and equipments as may be necessary for guard duty. 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


593 


. Resolution of July W, 1868 {15 Stats., <259). 

JC. ' T RESOLUTION directing the Secretary of War to sell damaged or unservice¬ 
able arms, ordnance, and ordnance stores. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and 
directed to cause to be sold, after offer at public sale on thirty days’ 
notice, in such manner and at such times and places, at public or pri- 
.yate sale, as he may deem most advantageous to the public interest, 
LDe old cannon, arms, and other ordnance stores now in possession 
of the War Department which are damaged or otherwise unsuitable 
for the United States military service, or for the militia of the United 
States, and to cause the net proceeds of such sales, after paying all 
proper expenses of sale and transportation to the place of sale, to be 
deposited in the Treasury of the United States. 

July 25, 1868 {15-187). —Sale of St. Louis Arsenal authorized. 

Act of March 3, 1869 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment. 

* * * 

May 4i 1870 {16-373 ).—Authorizes issues of arms, etc., to certain colleges and 
universities. 

February 2,1871 {16-593 ).—Bergen Heights Arsenal to be sold. 

May 15, 1872 .—This act establishes rates of pay of enlisted men of the corps from 
and after July 1, 1872. (See sec. 1280, R. S.) 

May 21, 1872 {17-138 ).—One thousand rifled muskets and 200,000 cartridges to be 
issued to the governor of Montana for distribution among settlers of the Gallatin Val¬ 
ley and other exposed localities. 

Act of June 6, 1872 {17 Stats., 258). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and for other purposes. 

* -x- * 

. Provided, That this appropriation [for experiments and 
tests of heavy-riffed ordnance] shall be applied to at least three models 
of heavy ordnance, to be designated by a board of officers to be 
appointed by the Secretary of War, which report shall include both 
classes, breech and muzzle loading cannon, and the powder and pro¬ 
jectiles necessary for testing the same shall be supplied from stores on 
hand. 

For constructing and testing Moffat’s breech-loading field pieces, 

. . . ; and for testing James Crocket’s graduating and accelerating 

cartridge, and for experimenting with patent metallic cartridge of 
Willis E. Moore, and other improvements in ammunition, . . . 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That no part of this appropriation [manufacture 

of arms] shall be expended until a breech-loading system for muskets 
and carbines shall have been adopted for the military service upon the 


S. Doc. 229-38 



594 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


recommendation of the board to be appointed by the Secretary of War, 
which board shall consist of not less than five officers, as follows: One 
general officer, one ordnance officer, and three officers of the line, one 
to be taken from the cavalry, one from the infantry, and one from the 
artillery: And provided fmother^ That the system when so adopted, 
shall be the only one tq be used by the Ordnance Department in the 
manufacture of muskets and carbines for the military service; and no 
royalty shall be paid by the Government of the United States for the 
use of said patent to any of its officers or employees, or for any patent 
in which said officers or employees may be directly or indirectly 
interested. 

* * * 

June 10, 1812 {17-380). —Orders sale of the Rome, Champlain, North Carolina, 
Mount Vernon, and Apalachicola arsenals. 

March 3, 1873 {17-543). —Provides for experiments and tests of two Gatling guns 
of large caliber for flank defenses of fortifications, recommended for trial; also of any 
other systems for utilizing and improving the cast-iron guns now in service. 

Act of June 16, 187{18 Stats., 7i8). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That no part of this sum shall be expended at 

said armories [national] in the perfection of patentable inventions in 
the manufacture of arms by officers of the Army otherwise compen¬ 
sated for their services to the United States. 

* * * 

June 22,1874 {18-200). —Authorizes sale of obsolete ammunition, balls, and surplus 
of pig lead. 


Act of June 23, 187^ {18 Stats., 2U)- 

AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the Ordnance Department shall consist of one Chief of 
Ordnance, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; 
three colonels, four lieutenant-colonels, ten majors, twenty captains, 
sixteen first lieutenants; and all vacancies which may hereafter exist 
in the grade of first lieutenant in said department shall be filled by 
transfer from the line of the Army: Provided, That no appointment 
or promotion in said department shall hereafter be made until the 
officer or person so appointed or promoted shall have passed a satis¬ 
factory examination before a board of ordnance officers senior to 
himself. 

Sec. 6 . That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out by reason of an}^ provision of law herein made reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the stall'. 

Sec. 7. That as vacancies shall occur in any of the grades of the 
Ordnance . . . departments, no appointments shall be made to 

fill the same until the numbers in such grade shall be reduced to the 
numbers which are fixed for permanent appointments by the pro¬ 
visions of this act, and thereafter the number of permanent officers in 
said grades shall continue to conform to said reduced numbers, and all 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


595 


other grades in said Ordnance . . . departments than those author¬ 

ized bv' the provisions of this act shall cease to exist as soon as the 
same shall become vacant bv death, I’esignation, or otherwise; and no 
appointment or promotion shall hereafter be made to till any vacancy 
which may occur therein. 

k^EC. 8. That so much of section six of an act entitled '•‘An act 
making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year end¬ 
ing fJune thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other pur¬ 
poses,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as 
applies to the Ordnance . . . departments of the Army be, and 

the same is hereby, repealed: Pmvlded^ That this section repealing 
said section shall not apply to any of the grades of the Ordnance 
. departments which arc omitted or abolished by the provisions 
of this act. 

March 3, 1875 {18-375). —Report to be made how many of the arsenals east of the 
Mississippi River can be sold without injury to the service; an oflicer of ordnance to 
be detiiiled as member of a board to conduct experiments in testing iron and steel. 

March 3, 1875 {18-452). —None of the money approi)riated by this act for the ord¬ 
nance service shall i)e expended for the construction or repair of buildings. No 
money to be expended hereafter at national armories in the perfection of patentable 
inventions, by oliicers of the Army, in the manufacture of arms. 

March 3, 1875 {18-510). —Authorizes sale of they)etroit Arsenal. 

April 11, 1876 {19-32). —Authorizes sale of arsenal at Stonington, Conn. 

June 20, 1876 {19-59). —Authorizes sale of all obsolete and condemned projectiles 
for heavy ordnance. 

July 3, 1876 {19-214). —Superseded arms to be issued to Territories and border 
States for protection of citizens; amended by joint resolution of March 3, 1877 
(19—410), by adding “not to exceed 50 ball cartridges for each arm.” 

Axigmt 15, 1876 {19-206). —State of Kansas to be credited for certain ordnance stores 
charged to it, but used by Government officials and never turned over to the State. 

May 16, 1878 {20-61) .—(Jwoidi of States not to be diminished by the provision of 
joint resolution of July 3, 1876 (19-214). 

June 7, 1878 {20-252). —Additional arms to be issued to Territories for protection 
of their citizens. 


REVISED STATUTES, 2ND EDITION, 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. lOlM. The Army of the United States shall consist of— 

* ' -x- * 

An Ordnance Department. 

The enlisted men of the Ordnance Department. 

-X- * * 

A[n I ordnance sergeant . . . for each military post. 

-x- * * 

Sec. 1109. There shall be an ordnance sergeant for each military 
post, whose duty it shall be to take care of the ordnance, arms, ammu¬ 
nition, and other military stores at such post, under the direction of 
the commanding officer, and according to regulations prescribed by 
the Secretary of Whir. 

Sec. 1110." Ordnance sergeants shall be selected by the Secretary of 
Whir from the sergeants of the line who shall have served faithfully 
for eight years, including four years in the grade of noncommissioned 
officer, and shall be assigned to their stations by him. 

* * 


* 


596 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Seo. 1159. The Ordnance Department of the Army shall consist of 
one Chief of Ordnance, with the rank of brigadier-general, three 
colonels, four lieutenant-colonels, ten majors, twenty captains, sixteen 
first lieutenants, ten second lieutenants, and thirteen ordnance store¬ 
keepers. The ordnance storekeeper at Springfield Armory shall have 
the rank of major of cavalry; all other ordnance storekeepers shall 
have the rank of captain of cavalry. 

Sec. 1160. No officer of the Army shall be commissioned as an ord¬ 
nance officer until he shall have been examined and approved by a 
board of not less than three ordnance officers, senior to him in rank. 
If an officer of the Army fail on such examination he shall be suspended 
from appointment for one year, when he may be reexamined before a 
like board. In case of failure on such reexamination, he shall not be 
commissioned as an ordnance officer. 

Sec. 1161. Any number, not exceeding six, of the ordnance store¬ 
keepers may be authorized to act as paymasters at armories and 
arsenals. 

Sec. 1162. The Chief of Ordnance may enlist as many sergeants of 
ordnance, corporals of ordnance, and first and second class privates of 
ordnance as the Secretary of War may direct. Master armorers, mas¬ 
ter carriage makers, and master blacksmiths shall be designated and 
mustered as sergeants; armorers, carriage makers, and blacksmiths 
shall be designated and mustered as corporals; artificers shall be desig¬ 
nated and mustered as privates of the first class, and laborers as privates 
of the second class. 

Sec. 1163. The Chief of Ordnance, subject to the approval of the 
Secretary of War, shall organize and detail to regiments, corps, or 
garrisons such numbers of ordnance enlisted men, furnished with 
proper tools, carriages, and apparatus, as may be necessary, and shall 
make regulations for their government. 

Sec. 1161. It shall be*the duty of the Chief of Ordnance to furnish 
estimates, and, under the direction of the Secretary of War, to make 
contracts and purchases for procuring the necessary supplies of ord¬ 
nance and ordnance stores for the use of the armies of the United 
States; to direct the inspection and proving the same, and to direct 
the construction of all cannon and carriages, ammunition wagons, 
traveling forges, artificers’ wagons, and of every implement and appa¬ 
ratus for ordnance, and the preparation of all kinds of ammunition 
and ordnance stores constructed or prepared for said service. 

Sec. 1165. The Chief of Ordnance, under the direction of the Sec¬ 
retary of Wai, may establish depots of ordnance and ordnance stores 
in such parts of the United States, and in such numbers, as may be 
deemed necessary. 

Sec. 1166. The Chief of Ordnance, or the senior officer of the corps 
for any district, shall execute all orders of the Secretary of War, and, 
in time of war, the orders of an}^ general or field officer commanding 
an army, garrison, or detachment for the supply of all ordnance and 
ordnance stores for garrison, field, or siege service. 

Sec. 1167. The Chief of Ordnance shall, half yearly. or oftener if 
so directed, make a report to the Secretary of War of all the officers, 
artificers, and laborers in his department of the service, and of all 
ordnance and ordnance stores under his control. Every officer of the 
Ordnance Department, every ordnance storekeeper, every post ord¬ 
nance sergeant, each keeper of magazines, arsenals, and armories, 
every assistant and deputy of such, and all other officers, agent, or 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


597 


persons who shall have received or may be entrusted with any stores 
oi supplies, shall quarterly, or oftener, if so directed, and in such 
manner and on such forms as may be directed or prescribed by the 
Chief of Ordnance, make true and correct returns to the Chief of Ord¬ 
nance of all ordnance arms, ordnance stores, and all other supplies 
and property of every kind received by or entrusted to them and each 
of them, or which may in any manner come into their and each of 
their possession or charge. The Chief of Ordnance, subject to the 
approval of the Secretary of War, is hereby authorized and directed 
to draw up and enforce in his department a system of rules and regu¬ 
lations for the government of the Ordnance Department, and of all 
persons in said department, and for the safe-keeping and preservation 
of all ordnance property of every kind, and to direct and prescribe the 
time, number, and forms of all returns and reports, and to enforce 
compliance therewith. 

* * * 

Sec. 1191. . . . all storekeepers shall, before entering upon the 

duties of their respective offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the 
United States, in such sums as the Secretary of War may direct, faith¬ 
fully to account for all public moneys and property which they may 
receive. The President may at any time increase the sums so pre¬ 
scribed. ... 

* * * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Chief of Ordnance . . . shall be 

appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1191. Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the . . . Ordnance . . . 

departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 1207. When any lieutenant of the . . . Ordnance Corps 

has served fourteen years’ continuous service as lieutenant, he shall 
be promoted to the rank of captain, on passing the examination pro¬ 
vided by the preceding section, but such promotion shall not authorize 
an appointment to fill any vacancy when such appointment would 
increase the whole number of officers in the corps beyond the number 
fixed by law; nor shall any officer be promoted before officers of the 
same grade who rank him in his corps. 

Sec. 1208. When promotions in the Ordnance Department of the 
Army are allowed by law, no officer of the corps below the rank of 
field officer shall be promoted to a higher grade until he shall have 
been examined and approved by a board of not less than three ord¬ 
nance officers senior to him in rank. If an ordnance officer fail on 
such examination, he shall be suspended from promotion for one year, 
when he shall be reexamined before a like board. In case of failure 
on such reexamination, he shall be dismissed from the service. 

* * * 

Sec. 1220. Every officer commanding a regiment, corps, garrison, 
or detachment shall make, once every two months, or oftener if so 
directed, a report to the Chief of Ordnance, stating all damages to 
arms, equipments, and implements belonging to his command, noting 
those occasioned by negligence or abuse, and naming the officer or sol¬ 
dier by whose negligence or abuse the said damages were occasioned. 


598 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any military stores 
which, upon proper inspection and survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales 
shall be made under the regulations prescribed by him. 

* * * 

Sec. 1279. . . . The principal assistant in the Ordnance Bureau 

shall receive a compensation, including pa}^ and emoluments, not 
exceeding that of a major of ordnance. 

Sec. 1280 . The monthly pay of the following enlisted men of the 
Army shall, during their lirst term of enlistment, be as follows, with 
the contingent additions thereto hereinafter provided: 

* * * 

Ordnance sergeants of posts, thirty-four dollars. 

* * * 

Sergeants of . . . ordnance, thirty-four dollars. 

Corporals of . . . ordnance, twenty dollars. 

* * * 

Privates (first class) of . . . ordnance, seventeen dollars. 

Privates (second class) of . . . ordnance, thirteen dollars. 

* * * 

Section 1281 adds $1 per month for each of the third, fourth, and fifth year of first 
enlistment, and section 1282 fixes pay of men reenlisting at rate of third year of first 
term. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 1293. Sergeants and corporals of ordnance shall be entitled to 
1 ‘eceive one ration and a half daily. Other enlisted men shall be enti¬ 
tled to receive one ration daily. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 1297. No allowance of clothing shall be made to sergeants of 
ordnance. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any articles of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage to be charged 
against the officer responsible, unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1662. At each arsenal there shall be established a national 
armory, in which there shall be employed one superintendent, who 
shall be an officer of the Ordnance Department, to be designated by 
the President; one master armorer, who shall be appointed by the 
President, and as many workmen as the Secretary of War may from 
time to time deem necessary. 

Sec. 1663. The ordnance officer in charge of any national armory 
shall receive no compensation other than his regular pay as an officer 
of the corps; the master armorers shall receive fifteen hundred dollars 
per annum each; the inspectors and clerks each eight hundred dollars 
per annum, except the clerks of the armory at Springfield, Massa¬ 
chusetts, who may receive, at the discretion of the Secretary of War, 
twelve hundred dollars per annum. 

Sec. 1661. The several compensations fixed by the preceding section 
for master armorers and inspectors sludl })e paid quarter yearly. All 
military storekeepers and paymasters shall give bond and security for 


THE ORDNANCE DETARTMENT. 


599 


the faitliful.discharge of their duties, in such sums as may ])e prescribed 
by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1665. An annual account of the expenses of the national 
armories shall be laid before Congress, together with an account of 
the arms made and repaired therein. 

Sec. 1666. The Secretary of War is authorized to abolish such of 
the arsenals of the United States as, in his judgment, may be useless 
or unnecessary. 

* * * 

Sec. 1672. The breech-loading system for muskets and carbines adopted by the 
Secretary of War, known as “the Springfield breech-loading system,” is the only 
system to be used by the Ordnance I)e})artment in the manufacture of muskets and 
carbines for the military service. 

Sec. 1673. No royalty shall be paid by the United States to any one of its officers 
or employees for the use of any iiatent for the system, or any part thereof, mentioned 
in the preceding section, nor for any such patent in which said officers or employees 
may be directly or indirectly interested. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

* * * 

Sec. 3714. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the milibiry . . . service shall be made by or under the direction 

of the chief officers of the Department of War. . . . And all 

agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 
their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper depart¬ 
ment for which such supplies or services are required, subject, never¬ 
theless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasury. 

* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made unless the same is authorized hy law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fultillnient. 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of W^ar to furnish officers, appointed by him to make con¬ 
tracts, with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits 
of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

* * * 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 23, 1878 {20 Stats., 31). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and for otlier works of defence, and 
for the armament thereof, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and seventy-nine, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That the money herein appropriated for torpe¬ 

does shall only be used in the establishment and maintenance of tor¬ 
pedoes to be operated from shore stations for the destruction of an 
enemy’s vessel approaching the shore or entering the channel and fair¬ 
ways of harbors. 

June 28, 1879 {21-30). —None of the money appropriated for the ordnance service 
shall be expended for any use not strictly connected with the military service of the 
Government, this restriction to apply to the use of public animals, forage, and 
vehicles. 


GOO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


December 19, 1879 Authorizes lease of buildings, etc., of the Charleston 

jIV 1*S011 fil 

January 7, 1881 Authorizes purchase of land to enlarge the San Antonio 

Arsenal. 

March 3,1881 {21-468) ordnance officers to be detailed as members of a board 
to examine all inventions of heavy ordnance and improvements of heavy ordnance 
and projectiles that may be presented to it. 

Secretary of War authorized to exchange the unserviceable and unsuitable powder 
and shot on hand for new powder and projectiles, or to sell the same and purchase 
similar articles with the proceeds of the sales. 


Act of May 188^ {22 Stats., 52). 

AN ACT to authorize the appointment of an ordnance storekeeper in the Army. 

That the President is hereby authorized to nominate and, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an ordnance store¬ 
keeper in the Ordnance Department of the Army, and all laws incon¬ 
sistent therewith are hereby suspended for the purposes of this act 
only: Provided, That prior to his appointment he shall have passed a 
satisfactorv examination before a board of ordnance officers. 

May 19, 1882 {22-93). —Two heavy guns and four mortars may be issued, on the 
requisition of the governor of a State bordering on the sea and Gulf coast, and a 
suitable battery for these cannon to be constructed, for instruction and practice of 
the militia in heavy artillery drill: Provided, The State has a permanent camping 
ground for the encampment of the militia not less than six days annually. 


Act of June SO, 1882 {22 Stats., 117). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

JJnited States testing machine. . . . And gwovided further. 

That in making tests for private citizens the officer in charge may 
require pa 3 mient in advance, and may use the funds so received in 
making such private tests, making full report thereof to the Chief of 
Ordnance; and the Chief of Ordnance shall give attention to such pro¬ 
gramme of tests as may be submitted by the American Society of Civil 
Engineers; and the records of such tests shall be furnished said society, 
to be by them published at their own expense. 

* * * 

August 5, 1882 {22-299) .—Master armorer at the Springfield Armory to perform 
the duties of master machinist and his pay increased $1,000 per annum. 


Act of Jtdy 6, 188If, {23 Stats., 158). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defence, and 
for the armament thereof, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That hereafter all rifled cannon of any particular material, 
caliber, or kind made at the cost of the United States shall be publicly 
subjected to the proper test, including such rapid firing as a like gun 
would be likely to be subjected to in actual battle, for the determination 
of the endurance of the same to the satisfaction of the President of the 
United States or such persons as he may select; and he is hereby author¬ 
ized to select not to exceed five persons, who shall be skilled in such 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


601 


matters; and if such guns shall not prove satisfactory they shall not be 
put to use in the Government service. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of War . . . are hereby authorized 

to sell to projectors of methods of conversion, for experimental pur¬ 
poses only, any smooth-bore cannon on hand required by them, at prices 
which shall not be less than have been received from auction sales for 
such articles, and deliver the same, at the cost of the Government, at 
the nearest convenient place for shipment or public transportation, the 
cost of delivery to be deducted from the proceeds of sales, and the bal¬ 
ance to be covered into the Treasury of the United States. 

* * * 


Act of March S, 1885 {23 Stats., 43J^). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defence, and 
for the armament thereof, for tl\e fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and eighty-six, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

And the President of the United States shall appoint a board, of 
which the Secretary of War shall be a member and president, to be 
composed of . . . two [officers] from the Ordnance Corps, . . . 
which board shall examine and report at what ports fortifications or 
other defences are most urgently required, the character and kind of 
defences best adapted for each, with reference to armament, the utili¬ 
zation of torpedoes, mines, or other defensive appliances. . . . 

For the purchase of movable submarine torpedoes propelled and 
controlled by power operated and transmitted from shore stations as 
may be recommended by the Board of Engineers of the Army of the 
United States and approved by the Secretary of War. . . . 

* * * 

For the armament of seacoast fortifications, including the manufac¬ 
ture of heavy guns and carriages; for the constructing and testing 
experimental gun carriages; for the purchase and manufacture of a 
multi-charge gun and testing same; for projectiles, gun loaders, fuses, 
powder, and implements, their trial and proof. . . . And not 

exceeding fifteen thousand dollars thereof may be used for the expenses 
of experiments in the use of dynamite or other high-explosive pro¬ 
jectiles. 

And no type of gun shall be purchased until thoroughly tested and 
found to conform to the requirements of this act. 


Act of May 1, 1888 {25 Stats., 107). 

AN ACT to authorize the construction of an arsenal for the repair, storage, and dis¬ 
tribution or ordnance and ordnance stores for the use of the Government of the 
United States at Columbia, Tennessee. 

[Appropriates 1200,000]; and the construction and control of said 
arsenal shall be under the direction of the Secretary of War: Provided, 
That without cost to the United States a sufficient quantity of land 
accepted as suitable and adequate for such arsenal by the Secretary of 
War, and not less than fifty acres, is conveyed in fee to the United 
States. . . . 


G02 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of Septanher ISSS if 6 Stats. ^ fHl). 

AN ACT making ap]:)ropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other purposes. 

-X- * 

. . . Provided fiiTtlieT^ That the cost to the Ordnance Department 

of all ordnance and ordnance stores issued to the States, Territories, 
and District of Columbia, under the act of February twelfth, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-seven, shall he credited to the appropriation for 
“ manufacture of arms at national armories.’’ . 

March 2, 1889 Board of (Jrdnance and Fortifi(‘ation to examine and 

report upon a site or sites for ordnance testing and proving ground. Makes an appro¬ 
priation for the construction of a counter])oise ])attery to mount a seacoast rifle gun, 
to be located at point selected by the Board of Ordnance and Fortification and 
erected by the inventor under the general direction of the Board; gun to he mounted 
thereon, with its fittings, to l)e furnished by the Ordnance Department of the Navy. 

August 18, 1890 {26-315).—Bo'Ard of threeFfficers, one of engineers, one of artillery, 
and one of ordnance, not below rank of lieutenant-colonel, to inquire into the facili¬ 
ties for producing steel forgings for high-power guns at or near the Pacific coast,yn 
the vicinity of the Rock Island Arsenal, the Indianapolis Arsenal, and at some point 
on or near the Gulf coast; also as to the advisability of erecting at those points gun 
factories for finishing and assend)ling high-power guns. 

Secretary of War authorized to contract for twenty-five 8-inch, fifty 10-inch, and 
twenty-five 12-inch breech-loading single-charge steel guns. 

Last paragraph of act of March 2, 1889 (25-825), amended to authorize the use of 
a 6-inch breech-loading cannon of new pattern in the test of the counterpoise battery. 

Act of Septemher 1888 Stats. ^ JfO). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defense, for the 
armament thereof, for the procurement of heavy ordnance for trial and service, 
and for other purposes. 

That the appropriations hereinafter provided for shall he available 
until expended and shall be expended under the direct supervision of 
a board to consist of the Commanding General of the Army, an officer 
of engineers, an officer of ordnance, and an officer of artillery, to be 
selected by the Secretary of War, to be called and known as the Board 
of Ordnance and Fortifications. ... 

* -x- -x- 

Sec. 4. For the erection, purchase, or manufacture of the necessary 
buildings and other structures, machinery, tools, and fixtures for an 
army gun factory for finishing and tissembling heavy ordnance, to be 
erected at the Watervliet Arsenal, West Troy, New York, seven hun¬ 
dred thousand dollars: Provided^ That not exceeding twenty thousand 
dollars of this sum may be used for the erection and completion of two 
sets of officers’ quarters. 

* * * 

Act of Jidy 16^ 189%^ if 7 Stats.^ 17If). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and for other purposes. 

X' X X 

ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 

XXX 

. . . Provided^ That if the Secretary of War shall, upon the 

report of the small-arms board now in session, adopt a new rifle or 

^ Sergeants of ordnance to receive the same allowance of clothing as other sergeants 
in like staff departments. 








THE ORDNANCP: DEJ’AKTMENT. 


603 


system for .rifles for the military service, or for trial with a view to 
such adox)tion, then this appropriation |$400,0001 for manufacture of 
amis at the national armories shall be available for the procurement 
of such arms: Provided further^ That purchases may be made in open 
market, in the manner common among business men, when the aggre¬ 
gate of the purchase does not exceed two hundred dollars. . . 

* * -X- 

JuUj 23, 1892 {27-257 ).—Authorizes tlie appointment of a hoard of army and naval 
oliieers to report what, in their opinion, is the most available site on the Paeitic coast 
or on the rivers and waters thereof, for the erection of a plant for finishing and assem¬ 
bling tliQ parts of heavy guns and other ordnance for the use of the Army and Navy. 

Act of July 27, 1892 {27 Statr., 276). 

AN ACT amending the act of October first, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled 
“An act to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army and to 
regulate promotions therein.” 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the examination of officers of the . . . Ordnance 

Department who were officers or enlisted men in the regular or vol¬ 
unteer service, either in the Army, Navy, or the Marine Corps, during 
the war of the rebellion, shall be conducted by boards composed in the 
same manner as for the examination of other officers of their respective 
corps and department; and the examination shall embrace the same 
subjects prescribed for all other officers of similar grades in the . . . 

Ordnance Department, respectively. 

July 27, 1892 (27-276 ).—Specimens of arms, projectiles, etc., used in the battle of 
Gettysburg to be delivered to the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. 

February 27, 1893 (27-478 ).—No part of appropriation for the manufacture of arms 
at the national armories shall be expended for the manufacture of magazine rifles of 
foreign invention until the examination of similar arms of American invention pre¬ 
sented within the next thirty days shall have been tested. 

Act of ALarch 29, 189(28 StaU., ^7). 

AN ACT to regulate the making of property returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of the Treasury 
Department returns of public property intrusted to the possession of 
officers or agents, . . . the Chief of Ordnance, . . . shall 
certify to the proper accounting officer of the Treasuiy Department, 
for debiting on the proper account, any charge against any officer or 
agent intrusted with public property arising from any loss, accruing 
by his fault, to the Government as to the property so intrusted to him. 

* * * 

August 6, 1894 (28-233 ).—Appropriation in this act for manufacture of arms appli¬ 
cable to the manufacture of the magazine arm recommended by the board. Pur¬ 
chases not exceeding $200 may be made in open market. 

March 2, 1895 (28-764 ).—Abolishes section 229, Revised Statutes, requiring annual 
statement of contracts for supplies and services. 

Act of Jime 6, 1896 (29 Static., 256). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defense, for the 
armament thereof, for the procurement of heavy ordnance for trial and service, 
and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Armament and fortifications: . . . And the ordnance storekeeper 

now on duty in Washington as disbursing officer and assistant to the 


GU4 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Chief of Ordnance, United States Army, shall hereafter have the rank 
of maior. 

* * * 

June 11,1896 {29-413 ).—No patented impact testing machine to be erected at the 
Watertown Arsenal, Mass., unless the patentee shall first authorize its use by the Gov¬ 
ernment without compensation. 

Marchs, 1897 [29-641 ).—No contract for oil-tempered and annealed steel for high- 
power coast-defense guns and mortars to be made at a price exceeding 23 cents per 
pound. 


Resolution of April i, 1898 [30 Stats. ^ 737). 

JOINT RESOLUTION providing for the temporary admission free of duty of naval 
and military supplies procured abroad. 

That such guns, ammunition, and other . . . militaiy supplies 

as may be purchased abroad by this Government for the national 
defense prior to January fifth, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, shall 
be admitted at any port of entry in the United States free of duty. 

May 7,1898 [30-400 ).—Part of appropriation for the armament of fortifications may 
be used for the purchase of material for steel-wire seacoast guns. 

May 18, 1898 [30-419). —Arms, ammunition, etc., may be issued to the Cuban 
people. 

June 7,1898 [30-433 ).—Authorizes the Bureau of Ordnance to purchase or make 
contracts for such ordnance and ordnance stores as are needed for immediate use. 
The act of March 3, 1899 (30-1350) imits above authority to March 1, 1900. Again 
extended to June 30, 1901, by act of February 24, 1900 (31—). 

Act of July 7, 1898 [30 Stats., JA3\ 

AN ACT to suspend the operations of certain provisions of law relating to the War 
Department, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

That during the existing war the Bureau of Ordnance of the War 
Department is authorized to purchase without advertisement such ord¬ 
nance and ordnance stores as are needed for immediate use, and when 
such ordnance and ordnance stores are to be manufactured, then to 
make contracts without advertisement for such stores, to be delivered 
as rapidly as manufactured. 

Act of July 7, 1898 [30 Stats., 7W). 

AN ACT to increase the force of the Ordnance Department. 

That section five of an act entitled ‘‘An act organizing the several 
staff corps of the Army,” approved June twenty-third, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and seventy-four, be, and the .^ame is hereby, amended so as to 
, read as follows: 

“Sec. 5. The Ordnance Department shall consist of one Chief of 
Ordnance, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; 
four colonels, five lieutenant-colonels, twelve majors, twenty-four 
captains, and twenty first lieutenants. 

“A chief ordnance officer may be assigned to the staff of an army or 
a corps commander, and while so assigned shall have the rank, pay, 
and allowance of a lieutenant-colonel. A chief ordnance officer may 
be assigned to the staff' of a division commander, and while so assigned 
shall have the rank, pay, and allowances of a major.” 


605 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 

Act of 2farch 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AX ACT for increasing? the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

I hat froiii and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the I nited States shall consist of . . . an Ordnance Department. 

I rovided, That when a vacancy shall occur through death, 
letirement, or other separation from active service in the office of store¬ 
keeper in the . . . Ordnance Department . . . now provided 

by hiAv, said office shall cease to exist. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Ordnance Department . . . shall 

consist of the officers and enlisted men now provided by law. 

* * * * 


Act of March 3, 1899^ {30 Stats., 1064). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Regular and Volunteer Army 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred. 

* * * 

Ordnance, ordnance stores, and supjMes: . . . Provided, The 

Chief of Ordnance is authorized to issue such obsolete or condemned 
ordnance, gun carriages, and ordnance stores as may be needed for 
ornamental purposes to the flomes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 
the Homes to pay for transportation and such other expenses as are 
necessary. 

* * * 

March 3, 1899 {30-1350). —Until March 1, 1900, Bureau of Ordnance may make 
purchases and contracts without advertisement; suspends provisions of law "relative 
to payment of employees. 

February 24 , 1900 {31- ).—Provisions of act of March 3, 1899, extended until 

June 30, 1901; war material may be purchased abroad and admitted free of duty. 

May 26, 1900 {31- ).—Authorizes issue of obsolete or condemned ordnance gun 
carriages and ordnance stores to Homes for Disabled Volunteers for ornamental uur- 
poses, the Homes to pay transportation. 

Act of Fehruary %, 1901 {31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United. 
States . . . shall consist of . . . an Ordnance Department 

Provided, That when a vacancy shall occur through death, 
retirement, or other separation from active service in the office of 
storekeeper, now provided for by law in the . . . Ordnance 

Department . . . said office shall cease to exist. 

* * * • 

Sec. 23. That the Ordnance Department shall consist of one Chief 
of Ordnance with the rank of brigadier-general, four colonels, six 
lieutenant-colonels, twelve majors, twenty-four captains, and twenty- 

1 Authorizes replacement of the ordnance and ordnance stores which volunteers 
carried into the service of the United States during the war with Spain and which 
have been retained by the Government. 





606 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


four first lieutenants, the ordnance storekeeper, and the enlisted men, 
including ordnance sergeants, as now authorized by law. All vacancies 
created or caused by this section shall, as far as possible, be filled by 
promotion according to seniority as now prescribed by law. 

* * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding perma¬ 
nent appointments in the . . . Ordnance Department, . . . 

including those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain 
and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, 
twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted 
according to seniority in the several grades, as now provided b}^ law, 
and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies 
which can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for which the 
officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any 
vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall 
occur which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section 
it shall be filled by detail from the line of the Army, and no more 
permanent appointments shall be made in those departments or corps 
after the original vacancies created by this act shall have been filled. 
Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies 
exist, under such system of examination as the President ma}^ from 
time to time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in any stall' department until they shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of an}^ staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff' corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro¬ 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff' corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided^ ThdX 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart¬ 
ment holding permanent appointments the chief of such staff' corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff' depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff' shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff' dut}^ If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 


THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 


607 


Act of March 1001 {31 Stats. ^ —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the supi)ort of tiie Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

Provided^ That no part of the ap])ropriations made for the Ordnance 
Department shall he used in ])ayment of freight charges on ordnance or 
ordnance stores issued by said department. 





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THE SIGNAL COUPS. 


The Signal Corps owes its origin to Maj. Albert J. Myer, who 
entered the Army in 1854 as an assistant surgeon, and whose active 
interest in sign language was manifested by its development, in 185(), 
into a system of signal communication which, attracting at hrst little 
or no attention, was two years later submitted to a military board con¬ 
vened for its consideration. It was not, however, until June 21,1860, 
that Congress authorized the addition to the staff of the Army of one 
signal officer, with the rank and pay of a major of cavalry. The 
‘‘Signal Corps” was organized by the act of March 3, 1863. 

June 27, 1860.—Maj. Albert J. Myer (New York), Signal Officer. 

Mar. 3, 1863.—Col. Albert J. Myer (New York), Chief Signal Officer. 

Dec. 3, 1864.—Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen.) Benjamin F. Fisher (Pennsylvania). 

July 28, 1866.—Col. (Brig. Gen., June 16, 1880) Albert J. Myer (New York). 

Dec. 15, 1880.—Brig. Gen. William B, Hazen (Ohio). 

Mar. 3, 1887.—Brig. Gen. Adolphus W. Greely (Louisiana). 

Note. —Colonel Myer was relieved from the command of the Corps November 10, 
1863, and ordered to the Mississippi. He turned over the Bureau to Lieut. Col. 
William J. L. Nicodemus (Maryland). 


611 



■I 



4 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of Jtine 21^ 1860 (12 Stats., 6If). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one. 

. . . ^ That there be added to the staff of the Arm}^ one signal 

officer, with the rank, pay, and allowances of a major of cavalry, who 
shall have charge, under the direction of the Secretary of War, of 
all signal duty and of all books, papers, and apparatus connected 
therewith. 

* * * 

February 22, 1862 (12-344 )-—Officers detailed as signal officers to receive, during 
such service, pay, etc., of cavalry officers of their respective grades. 

June 2, 1862 {12-411 ).—Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to 
make contracts, with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 


Act of Afarch 3, 1863 (12 Stats., 7^). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and for the year ending 
the 30 (th) of June, 1863, and for other purposes. 

* * * • 

Sec. 17. That the Signal Corps of the Army shall, during the pres¬ 
ent rebellion, be organized as follows: There shall be one Chief Signal 
Officer, a colonel, who shall be Signal Officer of the Army; one lieuten¬ 
ant-colonel; two majors, who shall be inspectors; and for each army 
corps or military department there shall be one captain and as many 
lieutenants, not exceeding eight, as the President may deem necessary, 
to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, who shall receive the pay and emoluments of cavalry 
officers of similar grades; and for each officer of the Signal Corps there 
may be enlisted or detailed one sergeant and six privates, who shall 
receive the pay of similar grades of engineer soldiers: Provided, That 
no officer or enlisted man snail be allowed to serve in the Signal Corps 
until he shall have been examined and approved by a military board, 
to be convened for that purpose by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 18. That the officers and enlisted men herein provided for 
shall be subject to the Rules and Articles of War. They may be 
mounted upon horses, the propert}^ of the United States, and shall 
serve in any militarv department or with any forces to which they 

613 



614 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

may be ordered. And officers of the Army who may be appointed in 
this corps may, after the rebellion, be restored to their respective 
regiments or corps and receive the same rank and promotion as if 
they had continued to serve therein. 

Sec. 19. That . . .in selecting officers and men for the organ¬ 

ization of the Signal Corps, as herein provided, preference shall be 
given to such as have served faithfully or as are now serving in the 
acting Signal Corps of the Army. 

Sec. 20. That, in order to allow time for their thorough examina¬ 
tion, the President may appoint the officers authorized by this act 
during the recess of Congress, which appointments shall be submitted 
to the Senate at their next session for their advice and consent. 

* * * 

Act of July 1866 {H Stats. ^ 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 22. That there shall be one Chief Signal Officer of the Army, 
who shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry, 
and the Secretary of War have power to detail six officers and not to 
exceed one hundred noncommissioned officers and privates from the 
Battalion of Engineers for the performance of signal duty; but no offi¬ 
cer or enlisted man shall be so detailed until he shall have been exam¬ 
ined and approved by a military board, to be convened by the Secretary 
of War for that purpose; and enlisted men, while so detailed, shall, 
when deemed necessary, be mounted upon horses provided l3y the 
Government. 

* * -X- 

February 18, 1867 {14-395). —The officers and men of the Signal Corps who per¬ 
formed duty on the fleet under Admiral Farragut in the action in Mobile Bay, 
August 5, 1864, to receive such sums, as prize money, as will be equal to what has 
been allowed to officers and sailors of the Navy of corresponding rank. 

Resolution of February .9, 1870 {16 Stats.., 369). 

That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, authorized and 
required to provide for taking meteorological observations at the mili¬ 
tary stations in the interior of the continent and at other points in the 
States and Territories of the United States, and for giving notice on 
the northern lakes and on the seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and 
marine signals, of the approach and force of storms. 

Act ofJtine 10, 1872 {17 Stats., 31^7). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 

fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and for 

other purposes. 

* * -X- 

. . . That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, authorized 

and required to provide, in the system of observations and reports in 
charge of the 'Chief Signal Officer of the Army, for such stations, 
reports, and signals as may be found necessary for the benefit of 
agricultural and commercial interests. . . . 


THE SIGNAL CORPS. 


G15 


Ae^ of ALarch 3, 1873 (17 Stals., 510). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . That the Secretary of War be, and hereby is, authorized to 

establish signal stations at light-houses at such of the life-saving sta¬ 
tions on the lake or sea coasts as may be suitably located for that pur¬ 
pose, and to connect the same with such points as may be necessary 
for the proper discharge of the signal service b}^ means of a suitable 
telegraph line in cases where no telegraph lines are in operation, to be 
constructed, maintained, and worked under the direction of the Chief 
Signal Officer of the Army or the Secretary of War and the Secre¬ 
tary of the Treasury; and the use of the life-saving stations as signal 
stations shall be subject to such regulations as ma}^ be agreed upon by 
said officials. . . . 

* * * 

. That the Chief Signal Officer may cause to be sold any sur¬ 
plus maps or publications of the Signal Office, the money received 
therefor to be applied towards defraying the expenses of the Signal 
Service, an account of the same to be rendered in each annual report 
of the Chief of the Signal Service. 

* * * 


Act of March 3, 1875 (18 Stats.., 371). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and for 
other purposes. 

* * 

. . . And a full report of the receipts and expenditures in con¬ 

nection with the said telegraph lines [on the Indian and Mexican fron¬ 
tiers and for the connection of military posts and stations, for the 
better protection of immigration and the frontier settlements from 
depredations, especially in the State of Texas, the Territories of New 
Mexico, Arizona, and the Indian Territory] shall be made quarterly to 
the Secretary of War through the Chief Signal Officer. And the Chief 
Signal Officer shall have the charge and control of said lines of tele¬ 
graph in the construction, repair, and operation of the same. . . . 

* * * 


Act of July 21f., 1876 (19 Stats.., 97). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . Nothing, however, in this act shall be construed to prevent 

enlistments for the Signal Service, which shall hereafter be maintained 
as now organized, and as provided by law with a force of enlisted men 
not exceeding four hundred after present terms of enlistment have 
expired. 

^ -V. .y. 


ClG LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


REVISED STATUTES, 2ND EDITION, 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 221. The Secretary of War shall provide for taking meteoro¬ 
logical observations at the military stations in the interior of the con¬ 
tinent and at other points in the States and Territories, and for giving 
notice on the northern lakes and seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and 
marine signals, of the approach and force of storms. 

Sec. 222. The Secretary of War shall provide, in the system of 
observations and reports in charge of the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Arm}", for such stations, reports, and signals as may be found necessary 
for the benefit of agriculture and commerce. 

Sec. 223. The Secretary of War is authorized to establish signal 
stations at light-houses and at such of the life-saving stations on the 
lake or sea coast as may be suitably located for that purpose, and to 
connect the same with such points as may be necessary for the proper 
discharge of the signal service by means of a suitable telegraph line 
in cases where no lines are in operation, to be constructed, maintained, 
and worked under the direction of the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Army or the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Treasury; 
and the use of the life-saving stations as signal stations shall be subject 
to such regulations as may be agreed upon by said officials. 

* * * 

Sec. 227. The Chief Signal Officer may cause to be sold any surplus 
maps or publications of the Signal Office, the money received therefor 
to be applied toward defraying the expenses of the Signal Service, and 
an account of the same shall be rendered in each annual report of the 
Chief of the Signal Service. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of— 

* * * 

A Chief Signal Officer. 

* * * 

Sec. 1195. There shall be one Chief Signal Officer, with the rank of 

colonel of cavalry, who shall have charge, under the direction of the 
Secretary of War, of all signal duty, and of all books, papers, and 
apparatus connected therewith. 

Sec. 1196. The Secretary of War may detail six officers from the 
Corps of Engineers, and any number of noncommissioned officers and 
privates, not exceeding one hundred, from the battalion of engineers, 
for the performance of signal duty; but no officer or enlisted man 
shall be so detailed until he shall have been examined and approved by 
a military board convened by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1197. Enlisted men detailed for signal duty shall, when it is 
deemed necessary, be mounted on horses provided.by the Government. 
* * - * 

Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any military stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 


THE SIGNAL COKPS. 


617 


Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies, or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, to be ch^ged 
against the responsible officer unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any fault on his part. ^ 


* * * 

Sec. 3714. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service shall be made by or under the direction 

ot the chief officers of the Department of War, . . . and all 

agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 
their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper depart¬ 
ment for which such supplies or services are required, subject, 
nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the 
Treasury. . . . 


* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made unless the same is authorized b}^^ law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulfillment. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to make contracts, 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns, 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

* * * 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of June W, 1878 ifO Stats., W6). 


AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

. And the enlisted force of the Signal Corps shall consist of 
one hundred and fifty sergeants, thirty corporals, and two hundred 
and seventy privates, who shall receive the pay of engineer soldiers of 
similar grades; and two sergeants may, in each year, be appointed to 
be second lieutenants: Provided.^ Signal Service men shall not receive 
extra-duty pay unless specially directed by the Secretary of War. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, however, That private dispatches of lawful nature 

may be transmitted over said lines [from Bismarck to Fort Ellis, via 
the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, connecting Fort Buford, Fort 
Keogh, and Fort Custer, and from Fort Sully to Fort Keogh, via 
Deadwood] whenever the same is not needed for public use, at rea¬ 
sonable rates, not to exceed the usual rates charged by private tele¬ 
graph companies, the proceeds thereof to be accounted for and paid 
into the Treasury of the United States; and the said telegraph line 
shall be maintained and operated under such proper rules and orders 
as the Secretary of War may direct for the benefit of the public 
service. 


G18 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OE GENERAL STAKE OE U. S. ARMY. 
Act o f June 16^ 1880 StaU.^ 259). 

AN ACT making a]:>propriations for the .sundry civil expenses of the Government 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, and lor 
other purposes. ^ ^ 

SIGNAI. SERVICE. 

* -X- -X- 

There shtill be added to the Signal Corps hfty privates; 

and from and after the pas.sage of this act the Chief Signal Officer 
shall have the rank and pay of a l)rigadier-general. 

* -x- * 

Act of August 7, 1882 {22 Stuts., 302). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three, and for 
other purposes. 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

* -X- ’ * 

. . . Provided^ That the work of no other department, bureau, 

or commission authorized by law shall i)e duplicated by this Bureau: 
Provided further^ That nothing herein contained shall restrict the 
performance of all duties of the Signal Service Bureau y^rescribed by 
existing laws. 


Act of Afarch 3^ 1883 {22 Stats. ^ 603). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for 
other purposes. 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

* * 

. . . Provided., That on and after the first day of July, eighteen 

hundred and eighty-three, all moneys received for the transmission 
of private dispatches over an}^ and all telegraph lines owned or oper¬ 
ated by the United States shall be paid into the Treasury of the 
United States, . . . 

* * * 

. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 

to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed ten com- 
mis.sioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal 
Corps authorized l)y law, and exclusive of officers detailed for Arctic 
Sea service. 

-k -X- * 


Resolution of June 77, 1885 {^5 Stats., 27Ij). 

JOINT RESOLUTION authorizing the President of the United States to appoint, 
from the sergeants of the Signal Corjos two second lieutenants. 

V\Ticrcas the promotion of two sergeants of the Signal Corps to be 
second lieutenants not having been made for the year ending dune 


THE SIGNAL COEPS. 


619 


thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eight 3 ^-one, as authorized law, 
because of a pending question as to the construction thereof: There¬ 
fore, 

Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of Avieriea in Congress assembled^ Tliat the President of the 
United States be, and hereby is, authorized to appoint from the ser¬ 
geants of the Signal Corps the two second lieutenants for that year, to 
rank from the date of appointment, the same as if the power to appoint 
had not lapsed. 


Act of July 7, 188{23 Stats., 19 J)- 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

SIGNAIi SERVICE. 

* * * 

. . . And the Secretaiy of War is authorized, in his discretion, 

to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed six commis¬ 
sioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal Corps 
authorized b}^ law, and of the three officers serving in the Arctic Seas. 
* * * 

That a joint commission, consisting of three Senators to be appointed 
bv the President of the Senate, and lliree members of the House, to be 
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall con¬ 
sider the present organizations of the Signal Service, . . . with 

the view to secure greater efficiency and economy of administration of 
the public service in said bureaus; and said joint commission shall 
report to their respective Houses on or before the third Monday in 
December, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, their conclusions, by bill 
or report. 

^ * * * 

Act of March 3, 1885^ {23 Stats., 1^8). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, and for other 
purposes. ^ ^ 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

* -X- * 

. . . Provided, That thereafter the work of no other department, 

bureau, or commission authorized by law shall be duplicated b}^ this 
Bureau. 

* * * 

. . . And the Secretarv of War is authorized, in his discretion, 

to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed four com¬ 
missioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal 
Corps authorized by law, and of the officers lately serving in the 
Arctic seas. 

* * * 


1 This act also continued the joint commission created by act of July 7, 1884, and 
required it to report to Congress on or before the third Monday in December, 1885. 




620 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of Avgmt f 188G {U Stats., S^S). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 


SIGNAL SERVICE. 

-X- * * ■ 

PAY. 

. . . And the Secretaiy of War is authorized, in his discretion, 

to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed five com¬ 
missioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal 
Corps authorized by law; and no money herein appropriated shall be 
used for pay and allowances of second lieutenants appointed or to be 
appointed from the sergeants of the Signal Corps under the provisions 
of the act approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
eight, in excess of the number of sixteen, or for the pay and allowances 
of exceeding four hundred and seventy enlisted men of the Signal 
Corps; and in reducing the force the enlisted men at Fort Myer, Vir¬ 
ginia, denoted the ‘‘permanent party,” shall first be mustered out: 
Provided^ That this restriction shall not apply to the pay or commu¬ 
tation or expense of return from their stations to their homes of any 
enlisted men in excess of the four hundred and seventy men, accruing 
prior to the passage of this act. 

* * * 

That no part of the appropriations made for the Signal Service by 
this act shall be used for the maintenance or support of a school of 
instruction nor of the militaiy post at Fort Myer, Virginia.^ 

* * * 

February 17, 1887 {24-405 ).—A military telegraph from Point Jupiter to Sanford, 
on the eastern coast of Florida, to be constructed, maintained, and operated under 
the direction and control of the Secretary of War, in connection with the establish¬ 
ment of signal and display stations. 

Act of Afarch J, 1887 Stats. ^ 509). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 

fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

* * * 

. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 

to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed five com¬ 
missioned officers of the Kegular Army, to be exclusive of the second 
lieutenants of the Signal Corps authorized by law. . . . 

And no money herein appropriated shall be used for pay and allow¬ 
ances of second lieutenants appointed or to be appointed from the ser¬ 
geants of the Signal Corps under the provisions of the act approved 


1 Extra pay is granted to thirteen enlisted men of the Signal Corps at Fort Myer, Va. 




THE SIGNAL C0EP8. 


621 


June twenti^h, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, in excess of the 
nundjei of sixteen, or for the pay and allowances of exceeding* four 
hundred and seventy enlisted men of the Signal Corps. 

* * * 

Marchs, 1888 (^5-^^).—Authorizes purchase of site in Washington for a building 
for the use of the Signal Bureau. 


Act of OctohtT 1888 {m Stats., 505). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

^ . . . Not exceeding seven hundred dollars may be used for the 

rental of such cable and land wires as may, in the opinion of the Chief 
Signal Officer, be necessary to secure connection between the Point 
Reyes military telegraph line and the signal office in San Francisco, 
California. 

* * * 

. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 

to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed five com¬ 
missioned officers of the Regular Army, to be exclusive of the second 
lieutenants of the Signal Corps authorized bylaw; and the Regular 
Army officers herein authorized to be detailed for the Signal Corps 
shall receive their pay and allowances from the appropriation for the 
support of the Army; and no money herein appropriated shall be used 
for pay and allowances of second lieutenants appointed or to be 
appointed from the sergeants of the Signal Corps under the provisions 
of the act approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
eight, in excess of the number of fourteen, or for the pay and allow¬ 
ances of exceeding three hundred and twenty enlisted men of the Signal 
Corps. 

^ -k 


Act of October 1^2, 1888 {25 Stats., 552). 

AN ACT to make enlisted men of the Signal Corps responsible for public property. 

That from and after the passage of this act every officer of the 
Signal Corps, every noncommissioned officer or private of the Signal 
Corps, and all other officers, agents, or persons who now have in 
possession, or may hereafter receive, or may be intrusted with any 
stores or supplies shall, quarterly, or more often if so directed, and in 
such manner and on such forms as may be prescribed by the Chief 
Signal Officer, make true and correct returns to the Chief Signal Officer 
of all Signal Service property and all other supplies and stores of every 
kind received by or intrusted to them and each of them, or which may, 
in any manner, come into their, and each of their, possession or charge. 
The Chief Signal Officer, subject to the approval of the Secretary of 
War, is hereb}^ authorized and directed to draw up and enforce in his 
Bureau a system of rules and regulations for the government of the 
Signal Bureau, and of all persons in said Bureau, and for the safe-keep- 


622 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


ing and preservation of all Signal Service property of every kind, and 
to direct and prescribe the kind, number, and form of all returns and 
reports, and to enforce compliance therewith. 

March 2^ 1889 (25-939 ).— Authorizes detail of five ofiicers of the Army for service in 
the Signal Corps. 

No part of the appropriation for signal service shall be used in payment of enlisted 
men of the Signal Corps on clerical or messenger duty in the Signal Office, nor to pay 
the expense of travel performed on strictly military duty. 

^ August SOy 1890 (26-371 ).—Officers and men of the Signal Corps may purchase sub¬ 
sistence stores in same manner as other officers and men of the Army. (Sec. 1144, 
R. S.) 

September26,1890 (26-479 ).—Appropriation for restoring and maintaining telegraphic 
communication between Tatoosh Island and Port Angeles, Cal., to be expended by 
the Chief Signal Officer of the Army. 

Act of October i, 1890 {^6 Stats., 653). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency and reduce the expenses of the Signal Corps of 

the Army, and to transfer the weather service to the Department of Agriculture. 

That the civilian duties now performed by the Signal Corps of the 
Army shall hereafter devolve upon a bureau to Ite known as the Weather 
Bureau, which, on and after July first, eighteen hundred and ninety- 
one, shall be established in and attached to the Department of Agri¬ 
culture, and the Signal Corps of the Arm}^ shall remain a part of the 
military establishment under the direction of the Secretary of War, and 
all estimates for its support shall be included with other estimates for 
the support of the military establishment. 

Sec. 2. That the Chief Signal Officer shall have charge, under the 
direction of the Secretary of War, of all militaiy signal duties, and of 
books, papers, and devices connected therewith, including telegraph 
and telephone apparatus and the necessary meteorological instruments 
for use on target ranges and other military uses; the construction, 
repair, and operation of military telegraph lines, and the duty of col¬ 
lecting and transmitting information for the Army by telegraph or 
otherwise, and all other duties usually pertaining to military signaling; 
and the operations of said corps shall be confined to strictly military 
matters. 

* -X- * 

Sec. d. . . . Provided, That the chief signal officer of the Army 

may, in the discretion of the President, be detailed to take charge of 
said bureau, and in like manner other officers of the Army, not exceed¬ 
ing four, expert in the duties of the weather service, may be assigned to 
duty with the Weather Bureau, and while so serving shall receive the 
pay and allowances to which they are entitled by law. 

Sec. 5. That the enlisted force of the Signal Corps, excepting those 
hereinafter provided for, shall be honorably discharged from the 
Army on June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, and such 
portion of this entire force, including the civilian employees of the 
Signal Service, as may be necessary for the proper performance of 
the duties of the Weather Bureau shall, if they so elect, be trans¬ 
ferred to the Department of Agriculture, and the compensation of the 
force so transferred shall continue as it shall be in the Signal Service 
on June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, until otherwise 
provided by law: Provided, That skilled observers serving in the 
Signal Service at said date shall be entitled to preference over other 


THE SIGNAL CORPS. 


628 


persons not in the Signal Service for appointment in tlie Weather 
Bureau to places for which they may be properly qualified until the 
expiration of the time for which they were last enlisted. 

Sec. 6. Thatiuaddition to the Chief Signal Officer the commissioned 
force of the Signal Corps shad hereafter consist of one major, four 
captains (mounted), and four first lieutenants (mounted), who shall 
receive the pay and allowances of like grades in the Army. The offi¬ 
cers herein provided for shall be appointed from the Army, including 
lieutenants of the Signal Corps, preference being given to officers who 
have performed long and efficient service in the Signal Service: Pto- 
vidt>d^ That no appointment shall be made until a board, to be 
appointed by the Secretary of War, shall have submitted a report 
recommending officers for appointment in the Signal Corps in the 
order of merit, based upon the importance and usefulness of work per¬ 
formed in the Signal Service, as said board may determine from the 
official records. And such second lieutenants of the Signal Corps as 
ma}^ not be promoted under the provisions of this act shall be 
appointed second lieutenants in the line of the Army, with present 
date of commission, and shall be assigned to the first vacancies which 
may occur in the grade of second lieutenant after the appointments 
herein provided for have been made. 

Sec. 7. That all appointments and promotions in the Signal Corps 
after this reorganization shall be made after examination and approval 
under sections twelve hundred and six and twelve hundred and seven 
of the Revised Statutes, which are hereb}^ amended so as to be appli¬ 
cable to and to provide for the promotion of the lieutenants of the 
Signal Corps in the same manner as they now apply to the Corps of 
Engineers and the Ordnance Corps; and all vacancies which may here¬ 
after exist in the grade of first lieutenant in the Signal Corps shall be 
filled by transfer from the line of the Army, after competitive exam¬ 
ination and recommendation by a board of officers of the Signal Corps 
to be appointed by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 8. That the enlisted force of the Signal Corps of the Army 
shall hereafter consist of fifty sergeants, of which ten shall be of the 
first class, with pay of hospital stewards. No further enlistments 
shall be made in the Signal Corps for duties enumerated in section 
three: l^rovided^ That any vacancy existing or hereafter occurring in 
that portion of the force of the Signal Corps engaged in said duties 
may be filled by a civilian at a salary not exceeding that now paid for 
the same class of work in the State or Territory where the service 
may be performed, and this compensation for said services shall con¬ 
tinue until fluly first, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, which compen¬ 
sation may be paid out of the appropriation for the pay of the present 
enlisted force. 

Sec. 9. That on and after July first, eighteen hundred and ninety- 
one, the appropriations for the support of the Signal Corps of the 
Armyshallbemadewiththoseof other staff corps of the Army, . . . 

Sec. 10. That the President is authorized to appoint, on or before 
March first, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, a board of three officials, 
which board shall be charged with the duty of examining the classes 
and kinds of property and the amount of moneys pertaining to and in 
the possession of the Signal Corps, and said board shall, as soon as 
practicable, make to the Secretary of War a report setting forth the 
amount of moneys and the quantities and kinds of property more suit- 


624 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


able for the work of the Weather Bureau and not necessary for the 
use of the Signal Corps, and what part of said property will be suitable 
and necessary for the Signal Corps, and upon the approval of said 
report by the Secretary of War the property and moneys which shall 
be decided to properly pertain to the Weather Bureau work shall be 
transferred to such Bureau, and to the custody of the Secretary of 
Agriculture, while the remaining property and funds shall continue in 
the possession of the Signal Corps. 

Act of August 6^ 189^ {28 Stats. ^ 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 

June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

* * * 

Signal Corps: . . . Providef That whenever a vacancy in the 

grade of brigadier-general shall occur in the office of Chief Signal 
Officer said vacancy shall not be tilled, but said grade shall cease and 
determine, and thereafter the commissioned force of the Signal Corps 
shall consist of one colonel, who shall be the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Army, and selected from the corps, and one lieutenant-colonel, one 
major, and three captains (mounted), to be appointed from the corps 
according to seniority, and three first lieutenants (mounted), to be 
appointed as now provided by law, who shall each receive the pay and 
allowances of like grades in the Army, and the officers of the Signal 
Corps shall retain the commissions held by them at the date of the next 
vacancy in the office of Chief Signal Officer, unless promoted in 
compliance with law. 

* * * 

. . . Provided further.^ . . . that purchases may be made 

in open market in the manner common among business men when the 
aggregate amount required does not exceed two hundred dollars, but 
every such purchase shall be immediately reported to the Secretary 
of War. 

* * * 

Act of March 2, 1897 {29 Stats., 609). ' \ ' ; 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight.' / , 

FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

* - 55 - ■ * ■ 

Signal Corps: . . . And the promotions authorized by law when 
^ vacancy occurs in the office of the Chief Signal Officer may be made- 
ip grades below that of colonel upon the approval of this act. 


THE SIGNAL CORPS. 


625 


- Act of April m, 1898 (30 Stats., 36If). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the line of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. ... In time of war there shall be added to the Signal 

Corps of the Army ten corporals, one hundred first-class privates, and 
forty second-class privates, who shall have the pay and allowances of 
engineer troops of the same grade. 

* * * 


Act of May 18, 1898 (30 Stats., 1^17). 

AN ACT to organize a volunteer signal corps. 

That the President is hereby authorized to organize a volunteer sig¬ 
nal corps for service during the existing war, which corps shall receive 
the same pay and allowances as are authorized b}^ law for the Signal 
Corps of the Army. 

Sec. 2. The volunteer signal corps shall consist of one colonel, one 
lieutenant-colonel, one major as disbursing officer, and such other offi¬ 
cers and men as may be required, not exceeding one major for each 
army corps, and two captains, two first lieutenants, two second lieu¬ 
tenants, five first-class sergeants, ten sergeants, ten corporals, and thirty 
first-class privates to each organized division of troops: Providea, 
That two-thirds of all officers below the rank of major and a like pro¬ 
portion of the enlisted men shall be skilled electricians or telegraph 
operators. 


Pesol'iition of July 8, 1898 (30 Stats., 762). 

JOINT RESOLUTION to correct an omission relative to signal officers on the staff 
of corps commanders, and for other purposes. 

That so much of section ten of the act of Congress approved April 
twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, as provides that the 
staff of the general commanding an army corps shall consist of certain 
officers, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, shall be held to include 
among such officers a chief signal officer: Provided, That so much of 
the act of Congress approved August sixth, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-four, as reduces the grade of the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Army is hereby repealed, and the colonel therein provided for shall be 
assistant chief signal officer and appointed, by regular promotion, 
upon the approval of this resolution: Provided furthei', That the laws 
authorizing the detail and assignment of the officers of the Army to 
duty in the Weather Bureau be, and are hereby, repealed. 

Act of March 2, 1899 (30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of ... a Signal Corps. . . . 

* * * 


S. Doc. 229-40 



626 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. T. That the . . . Signal Corps shall consist of the officers 

and enlisted men now provided by law. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Four signal officers with the rank of major, nine signal officers with 
the rank of captain, nine signal officers with the rank of first lieuten¬ 
ant, and nine signal officers with the rank of second lieutenant. 

* x- * 

May 25, 1900 {31 —).—Commercial business may be done over the military tele¬ 
graph and cable lines in Alaska, receipts from such business to be accounted for and 
paid into the United States Treasury. 


Resolutimi of June 4^, 1900 {SI Stats. ^ —). 

JOINT RESOLUTION for the appointment of first lieutenants of volunteers in the 
Signal Corps of the Army. 

That the President is hereby empowered to nominate and, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint ten first lieuten¬ 
ants of volunteers in the Signal Corps of the Army, whose commis¬ 
sions shall expire June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one. 

Act of February 1901 {31 Stats.., —). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of ... a Signal Corps. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 24. That the Signal Corps shall consist of one Chief Signal 
Officer, with the rank of brigadier-general, one colonel, one lieutenant- 
colonel, four majors, fourteen captains, fourteen first lieutenants, 
eighty first-class sergeants, one hundred and twenty sergeants, one 
hundred and fifty corporals, two hundred and fifty first-class privates, 
one hundred and fifty second-class privates, and ten cooks: Provided., 
That vacancies created or caused by this section shall be filled by pro¬ 
motion of officers of the Signal Corps according to seniority, as now 
provided b}^ law. Vacancies remaining after such promotions may be 
filled by appointment of persons who have served in the Volunteer 
Signal Corps since April twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninet}^- 
eight: Provided., That the President is authorized to continue in serv¬ 
ice during the present emergency, for duty in the Philippine Islands, 
five volunteer signal officers with the rank of first lieutenant and five 
volunteer signal officers with the rank of second lieutenant. This 
authority shall extend only for the period when their services may be 
absolutely necessary. 

* * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding perma¬ 
nent appointments in the . . . Signal Corps, including those 


THE SIUHAL CORPS. 


627 


appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain and first lieu¬ 
tenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, twenty-one, 
and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted according to 
seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, and nothing 
herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies which can be 
filled by such promotions or to the periods for which the officers so 
promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any vacancy, except 
that of the chief of the department or corps, shall occur which can 
not be filled by proiuotion as provided in this section, it shall be filled 
by detail from the line of the Army, and no more permanent appoint¬ 
ments shall be made in those departments or corps after the original 
vacancies created by this act shall have been tilled. Such details shall 
be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, under such sys¬ 
tem of examination as the President may from time to time preseribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in an}^ staff department until they shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff' corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro¬ 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps oi* department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pa}^, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided^ That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart¬ 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff' corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans¬ 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for dut}^ in each staff' depart¬ 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 




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I'HE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF MUSTERS. 


Aug. 11,1775.—Stephen Moylan, Muster-Master-General. 
June 18,1770.—Gunning Bedford, Muster-Alaster-General. 
Apr. 10,1777.—Joseph Ward, Muster-Master-General. 

Jan. 12,1780.—Mustering De})artment discontinued. 












COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF MUSTERS. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

Ju7ie 16, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That there be a commissary of the musters; 

that his pay Ix', forty dollars per month. 

July 17, 1775. 

Resolved, That a deputy muster-master ])e appointed for the said 
[New York] department. 

(Timnin^ Bedford, esq., elected to that office. 

July 19, 1775. 

Resolved, That the appointment of . . . a commissary of mus¬ 

ters ... be left to General Washington. 

July %9, 1775. 

Resolved, That the pay of the Commissary-General of Musters be 
forty dollars per month. 

* * * 

Deputy muster-master-general, forty dollars per do. (month). 

August 11, 1775. —“The Commander in Chief has been pleased to appoint Stephen 
Moylan, esqr., to be Muster-Master-General to the Army of the United Colonies.” 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

Fehruary 17, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the appointment of Captain-Rensselaer 

to be deputy muster-rnaster-general of the forces in Canada be con¬ 
firmed. 

Fehruary 28, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the deputy muster-master-general, Gun¬ 
ning Bedford, esq., be directed to repair to his post forthwith in the 
northern army in Canada, and that he muster the troops once in every 
month and make returns to Congress and the commanding officer. 

March 25, 1776. 

Resolved, That a deputy muster-master-general be appointed for the 
Southern Department. 

The ballots being taken and examined, 


631 




632 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Edmund Kandolph, esq., was elected.^ 

Resolved^ That E. Randolph, esq., be empowered to appoint two 
deputy muster-masters under him, one for North Carolina and the 
other for South Carolina. 


June 5, 1776. 

Resolved^ That the . . . deputy muster-masters-general make 

regular returns and reports to Congress and to the respective officers 
to whom they are deputies at least once a month, and that the princi¬ 
pals also make returns to Congress at the same periods. 

June 17, 1776. 

Resolved, That an experienced general be immediately sent into 
Canada, with power to appoint ... a deputy muster-master-gen¬ 
eral and such other officers as he shall find necessary for the good of 
the service, . . . and notify the same to Congress for their appro¬ 

bation ; 

* * * 

That a deputy muster-master-general be immediately sent into 
Canada. 

June 18, 1776. 

Resolved, That Gunning Bedford, esq., deputy muster-master-gen¬ 
eral, be promoted to the rank of Muster-Master-General, and that he 
be directed immediately to repair to headquarters in New York. 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered and directed to 
nominate and send a deputy muster-master-general to Canada. 

July 9,1776. 

The Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy muster-master- 
general for the flying camp and militia ordered to rendezvous at 
Trenton; and the ballots being taken, 

Jonathan B. Smith was elected.^ 

September 26, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Richard Yarick, late captain in Colonel 

McDougalFs regiment, which office he resigned, secretary to the hon¬ 
orable Major-General Schuyler, be appointed deputy muster-master- 
general to the northern army. 

October 7, 1776. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy muster-master-gen¬ 
eral for the flying camp, in the the room of Jonathan B. Smith; and the 
ballots being taken, 

William Davies was elected. 


1 Resigned April 26, 1776, having been elected to represent Williamsburg in conven¬ 
tion. 

^Resigned September 27,1776. 



633 


COMMISSARY-GENEEAL OF MUSTERS. 

October 16, 1776. 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered to appoint . . . 
a deputy muster-master-general for the flying camp. 

October n, 1776. 

Resolved, ... That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the staff in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follow: . 

To the . . . deputy muster-master-general, 6 rations. . . . 

November 7, 1776. 

Resolved, ... 8. That the deputy muster-master-general in the 

Northern Department have the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Army 
of the United States. 

April If,, 1777. 

Resolved, That there be one Commissary-General of Musters for the 
Army of the United States: 

That there be four deputy muster-masters-general; 

That the said appointments be made by Congress; 

That one deputy muster-master be appointed to each grand division 
of the army, and that these appointments be made by the Commander 
in Chief; 

That the troops be mustered once in ever}^ month b}^ the deputy 
muster-masters, and once, at least, in every three months the deputy 
muster-master-general of each department shall superintend at such 
musters; 

* * * 

That the deputy muster-master-general of each department return 
an abstract of each muster roll once a month to the deputy adjutant- 
general of that department,* and one other abstract to the Commissary- 
General of Musters; 

That the Commissary-General of Musters return to the Adjutant- 
General once a month an abstract of all the musters, regimentally 
digested, together with an abstract of the rations drawn or retained 
by the several regiments; 

* * * 

That the pay of the Commissary-General of Musters be 60 dollars a 
month and 4 rations a day; 

That the pay of the deputy muster-master-general be 50 dollars a 
month and 3 rations a day; 

That the pay of a muster-master be 35 a month and two rations a 
day. 

April 10, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Commissary-General of Musters have the rank 
of colonel in the Army of the United States; that the deputy muster- 
masters-general have the rank of lieutenant-colonels in the Army of 
the United States. 


^ Revoked by resolution of June 10, 1777. 





634 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY 

Congress proceeded to the election; and the ballots being taken, 

Joseph Ward, esq., was elected Commissary-General of Musters. 

Richard Varick and William Bradford, jr., were elected deputy 
muster-masters-general. 

May 1777. 

Resolved^ That all muster rolls directed to be taken be sworn to 
before some general officer of the Army, or in the absence of a gen¬ 
eral officer, before the commanding officer of the post where the 
muster is made, or some civil magistrate in the United States, and a 
certificate thereof be made on the back of each roll. . . . 

Resohk'd^ That each deputy muster-master deliver to the deputy 
muster-master-general of his department one certified copy of all mus¬ 
ter rolls, by which the latter shall make the abstracts required from 
him. 

Resolved.^ That the commissary-general of musters and his deputies 
shall take an oath of office and fidelity to these United States. 

Resolved.^ That in the absence of the Commander in Chief from any 
department the deputy muster-masters shall be appointed by the com¬ 
mander in that department. 

Resolved, That the mustering officers be empowered and directed to 
require of the officers whose troops are mustered any papers or vouchers 
relative to the enlistment and muster. 

2fay U, 1777. 

Resolved., . . . The Commander in Chief and the commander in 

any separate department shall be authorized to allow such quantities of 
forage, and for and during such times as they shall think proper . . . 

to the muster-master-general and his deputies: . . . Provided 

always., That if any of the officers above mentioned, their deputies or 
assistants, should be allowed forage in consequence of any general 
orders hereafter given, and should nevertheless not keep any or so 
many horses as they would be permitted to draw forage for, in such 
case no forage shall be issued for more horses than they really have, 
nor shall they at an}^ time thereafter be allowed any forage as back 
allowance or any money in lieu thereof. 

May 20, 1777. —“Lewis Woodruff, esq., is appointed deputy muster-master.”— 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

June 10, 1777. 


Resolved, . . . XXXIV.—That no returns of rations drawn or 

returned by the several regiments be hereafter made ... to the 
commissary-general of musters, or by him to the adjutant-general 
. . . as directed in the regulations of the muster-master-general’s 

department passed by Congress the 4th of April last. 

July 8, 1777. 

Resolved, That Robert Harrison, esq., be appointed to muster the 
said battalion [Maryland battalion of Continental troops commanded 
by Colonel Richardson] while employed in the service for which it is 
now destined; and that he be allowed a reasonable compensation for 
every muster which he shall perform. 


COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF MUSTERS. . 635 

August 6, 1777, 

Resolved,^ That the commissary-general of musters be allowed here¬ 
after the pay and rations of a colonel; that the pay of his deputy 
commissaries be increased to 60 dollars a month, and that of the muster- 
masters to 45 dollars per month. 

Resolved^ That the several muster-masters be directed to omit making 
returns to the paymaster and deputy paymasters-general. 

August 22, 1777. 

Resolved, That Lodowig Sprogle be empowered and directed to 
muster the militia of Pennsylvania instead of the deput}" muster- 
master-general, whose indisposition prevents his performinsr that 
service. 

October 10, 1777. 

Resolved, That John Montgomery, esq., at Carlisle, be, and he is 
hereby appointed and authorized to muster the two companies under 
the command of Major J. A. Wilson, for the discharge of which duty 
a reasonable allowance shall be made to him. 

October 20, 1777. 

Resolved, That Mr. William Massey be appointed deputy muster- 
master-general to the Continental troops raised or to be raised in the 
States of South Carolina and Georgia. 

January 13, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That ... a deputy muster-master-general 

. . . be appointed to pro tempm^e for the troops aforesaid [from 

New Hampshire, Massachusetts Ba}^, Rhode Island, and Connecticut 
constantl}^ employed in Rhode Island for the defence of the State and 
of the Providence Plantations]; that the . . . deputy muster- 

master-general be appointed by the officer commanding at that post 
[Providence], and that each . . . take the oath of tidelity and 

office. . . 

Afay 29, 1778. 

Resolved, That no person hereafter appointed upon the civil staff of 
the Army shall hold or be entitled to any rank in the Army by virtue 
of such staff' appointment. 

March 16, 1779 .— The quartermaster-general was authorized to appoint a muster- 
master for the corps of wagoners; and, April 19,1779, he was empowered to establish 
regulations, to be approved by the Commander in Chief, for the mustering of that 
corps. 

April 6, 1779. 

Congress proceeded to the election of deputy commissaries-general 
of musters in the room of Messrs. Bradford and Noarth, resigned; and 
the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Henry Rutgers, jr., and Mr. Azariah Horton were elected. 

December 24 , i77S>.—“The honorable the board of war having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen and directed the distribution of them among the officers 


636 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


of the .... staff, who are not adopted by any State, the clothier-general is to 
deliver them upon returns sighed by the . . . heads of the following corps 

and departments at the rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 25th of Novem¬ 
ber last. . . . Muster-masters.” . . . {Orders, General Headquarters, Morris¬ 

town. ) 

Janua/ry 1780. 

Resolved., That the mustering department be discontinued and the 
officers thereof-discharged. 

And whereas the said commissary-general of musters has proved 
himself a good and faithful officer, and those who have been employed 
under him have given satisfaction in their offices: 

Resolved, That the said commissary-general of musters, and those 
officers who have continued in that department under him for eighteen 
months last past, shall be entitled to receive a sum equal to their pay 
respectively for the terms of twelve months from this day. 

Hesolved, That in future the business of mustering the troops be 
performed by the inspectors of the Army, . . . 

February 7, 1780. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of musters,'his deputies and 
muster-masters, be allowed 100 dollars per month for each detained 
ration from the 18th of August last to the 12th of January last, when 
the department was discontinued, in like manner as officers of the line. 

October 12, 1781. 

Ordered, That it be recommended to the executive of the State of 
Massachusetts to settle with and pa}^ the officers of the late mustering 
department within that State, that have not been settled with, by allow¬ 
ing them what their arrears of pay and year’s advance was worth in 
specie at the time they respectively became due, and charge the same 
to the United States. 


THE COMMISSARY-GENERAI. OE PRISONERS 


Alay 15, 1777.—Elias Boiidinot. 

Nlay 11, 1778.—Ool. Francis Johnson. 
May 28, 1778.—Maj. John Beatty. 
Apr. 15, 1780.—Col. Joseph Ward. 
8ept. 15, 1780.—Abraham Skinner. 


63 













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COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 


JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

October 7, 1776. 

Resolved., That a commisyary of prisoners of war be appointed in 
each of the United States. 

That the said commissaries be directed to make monthly returns of 
the state and conditions of the prisoners, under their respective care, 
to the Board of War. 

That the said commissaries be appointed by the respective States. 

December 27, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That General Washington be empowered to 
appoint a commissary of prisoners, . . . to fix their salaries, and 

return their names to Congress. 

‘k ^ 

June 6, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That a commission be granted to Elias Boudi- 
not, esq., as commissary-general of prisoners; the said commission to 
be dated the 15th day of May last, and Mr. Boudinot to be allowed 
the pa}^ and rations of a colonel. 

That Elias Boudinot, commissary-general of prisoners, be empowered 
to appoint two deputy commissaries of prisoners; the said deputies to 
be allowed the pay and rations of majors. 

June 23, 1777. 

Resolved, That Elias Boudinot, esq., commissary-general of pris¬ 
oners, have power to appoint three deputies under him in addition to 
those he was heretofore authorized to appoint. 

That all commissaries or other persons in the several States having 
the custody or care of prisoners of war be obliged, at any time when 
required by the commissary-general of prisoners or his deputies, to 
deliver over to him or his deputies all such prisoners of war as are or 
shall be in their care or custody. 

June 2Ji,, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Board of War write to the commissary of pris¬ 
oners, instructing him to propose to the commissary of prisoners in 
New York that the prisoners of each party in the present war be sup- 

639 



640 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


plied with such provisions, clothing, or other necessaries during their 
captivity the respective captors as may be approved by the deputy 
commissaries resident where the prisoners are confined, fixing in the 
contract the quantities and value of a ration of provisions, the clothing 
and necessaries to be charged at the current prices, and the account of 
such supplies to be rendered quarterly, and the balance paid, if required, 
in provisions at the current rates, if due from the American commis- 
saiy, or in clothing at the current price, if due from the British com¬ 
missary. 

Resolved^ That the commissary of prisoners be empowered to make 
such contract on behalf of the United States of America, and to make 
such reasonable alterations from the directions of the Board of War as 
he may find necessary to obtain an equitable bargain for the mutual 
sujmly of prisoners. 

Resolved^ That if the commissary-general of prisoners shall not be 
able to accomplish a contract on equitable principles within the space 
of three weeks from this date, he be authorized to send in a quantity 
of provisions to supply the prisoners of war taken by the enemy and 
now in New York; that the overplus provisions, beyond what the pris¬ 
oners want for their sustenance, be sold to supply them with clothing 
and other necessaries; and that it be recommended to the commissary- 
general of prisoners not to divulge this resolution, that unreasonable 
advantage may not be taken of it. 

October 1777. 

Resolved.^ Thai, the commissary of prisoners provide, under the direc¬ 
tion of the Board of War, log barracks for Continental prisoners of 
war that already are, or hereafter may be, sent to the Commonwealth 
of Virginia, at such place or places as the governor and council of that 
State shall approve; that in the construction thereof regard be had to 
the health and safekeeping of the prisoners, and that a convenient 
space of ground, surrounding or adjoining thereto, be set apart for 
benefit of air, and so enclosed as to prevent all intercourse with the 
inhabitants; that until such barracks be provided the prisoners be sent 
to the county lieutenants of Frederick and Augusta counties, in Vir¬ 
ginia, to be by them secured, at the Continental expense, in such man¬ 
ner as shall be suitable for prisoners of war, and until the governor 
and council of Virginia shall take further order therein. 

Octobei^ 6, 1777. 

Resolved., That all masters, officers, and marines, and all subjects of 
the King of Great Britain, taken on board any prize made b 3 ^any Con¬ 
tinental vessel of war be hereafter considered as prisoners of war and 
treated as such, and that the seamen and mariners of such prize be 
confined in the gaols or some other secure place in the States to which 
the prize shall be carried; and it is recommended to the several States 
to consider and treat all captains, officers, and mariners, and all sub¬ 
jects of the King of Great Britain, taken on board any prize made by 
any vessel fitted out by or carried into any State, by any privateer or 
letter of marque, as prisoners of war. 

Ordered^ That the commissary-general of prisoners be informed of 
this resolve, and that he be directed to appoint a deputy in each State. 


641 


COMMISSAKY-GENEKAL OF TKISONERS. 

October SO, 1777. 

Resolved, That in case a sufficient number of laborers can not be 
procured to work the lead mines in the State of New York, the com¬ 
missary-general of prisoners be directed to furnish a competent num¬ 
ber of prisoners of war for that end. 

December 12, 1777. —“Daniel Clymer, esq., is appointed deputy commissary of 
prisoners, to act in the absence of the commissary-general of prisoners. ’ ’ ( Orders, 

General Headquarters, Sweedes' Ford .) 

December 12, 1777. —“David Klein, esq., is appointed deputy commissary of prison¬ 
ers, to act in the absence of the commissary-general of prisoners.” (Orders, General 
Headquarters [on the march to Valley Forge].) 

Jcv.iuary Up, 177S. 

Resolved, That the order of the commissary of prisoners shall be a 
sufficient voucher to the commissary or deputy commissary-general of 
purchases for the delivery of provisions for the use of the prisoners 
of war. 


January 21, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That the commissary-general of prisoners and 

his respective deputies be forthwith directed to call in all the officers 
and privates belonging to the enemy, and to confine them in such 
places and order them to be subsisted and treated in such manner as 
shall render their situation similar in all respects to that of the officers 
and privates who are prisoners with the enemy, and that they con¬ 
tinue this mode of treatment till such a time as a change of conduct 
on the part of the enemy shall induce Congress or the Commander in 
Chief of the armies of these States to give directions for a dili'erent 
line of conduct on their part. 

May 11, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of prisoners, in 
the room of Elias Boudinot, esq., resigned, and the ballots being taken. 

Colonel Francis Johnson was elected. 

31ay 21, 1778. 

Resolved, That the necessar}" contingent charges of executing the 
office of commissary-general of prisoners be allowed, over and above 
the present pay of Colonel Johnson. 

Hay 21, 1778. —Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson was taken from the line because his 
health would not permit him to undergo the fatigues of active service; he was per¬ 
mitted by Congress to hold his rank, but no command in the line. May 23, he 
declined the appointment as it never was his wish to give up his rank in the line. 


May 28, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary-general of pris¬ 
oners, and the baUot being taken, 

Major John Beatty was elected. 


S. Doc. 229- 



642 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 15, 1778. 

Resolved, That all prisoners taken or which may be taken by the 
squadron of His Most Christian Majesty, under the command of the 
Count d’Estaing, vice-admiral of France, be received by the commis¬ 
sary-general of prisoners, and that he provide for their safe custody 
and subsistence in like manner as hath been usual for the prisoners of 
these States. 

That he make monthly returns of all prisoners which shall be b}^ him 
so received to the Board of War. 

That he make monthly returns to the Treasury of the accounts of all 
moneys expended for the purposes aforesaid, and that the prisoners 
be held at the disposal of His Most Christian Majesty, and subject to 
the orders of his excellency Mons. Count d’Estaing. 

July 30, 1778. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of prisoners be directed to 
engage in the Continental service all, or as many as he can, of the sea¬ 
men sent from New York by Admiral Gambler who shall appear to be 
effective or likely to be soon fit for service, and that he furnish such 
as will so engage with the means of travelling to Boston, where they 
are to be delivered to the commissioners of the Navy for the eastern 
district, to be shipped on board the Continental vessels of war fitting 
out at that port. 

Augmt k, 1778. 

Ordered, That the commissary-general of prisoners do from time to 
time, on the exchange of prisoners in the possession of the enemy, take 
proper care of those who shall appear to be in such ill state of health 
as to be unable to travel, either by sending them to a public hospital 
or, when that can not be readily eff ected, by appointing proper persons 
to take care of them on the easiest terms practicable, and that those 
who are able to travel be furnished with orders on the different com¬ 
missaries of issues on their way for such a number of rations as may 
be necessary for their support to their respective places of abode; also 
that the commissary of prisoners do keep exact accounts of the expenses 
attending them that belong to the different States and are not in the 
Continental service. 


SepteirJer 11, 1778. 

Resolved, That Major-General Heath, with the concurrence of the 
council of the State of Massachusetts Bay, be authorized to remove the 
prisoners, under the convention of Saratoga, to such parts of the State 
of Massachusetts Bay as they can be most conveniently subsisted in. 

Octoler 16, 1778. 

Resolved, That General Washington be directed, if neither of the 
alternatives [the British commander to grant passports to American 
vessels to transport provisions and fuel to Boston for the use of the 
prisoners or that he adopt measures for sending them ample supplies] 
mentioned in the above resolve have been complied with, to take the 


COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 


643 


necessary steps for removing, with all convenient speed, all the pris¬ 
oners of the convention of Saratoga to the town of Charlottesville, in 
the county of Albemarle, in the State of Virginia. 

* * -X- 

Mesolved^ That the Board of War appoint persons to superintend 
and take charge of the said prisoners; that they contract for the fuel 
for their use, and apply to the governor and council of Virginia for a 
sufficient force of militia to guard the said prisoners. 

That the commissaiy-general of purchases provide a suitable sup¬ 
ply of provisions for the said troops. 

That the commissary-general of issues appoint a suitable person to 
issue provisions to the said troops and to keep a regular account 
thereof. 

That regular accounts for provisions and fuel be made and trans¬ 
mitted from time to time to the Board of War. 

That the Board of War be directed to contract with a proper person 
to build temporary log barracks for the reception of the said troops 
at the place above mentioned on or before the 15th day of December 
next, and that they report to Congress the contract they may enter into. 

Octoher 21, 1778. 

liesolved. That the commissary-general of prisoners be informea 
that Congress do not approve of partial or parole exchanges, but they 
are willing to make a general exchange of officers, whether of the con¬ 
vention [Saratoga] or otherwise, as far as numbers and rank will apply. 

Noverriber 7, 1778. 

Resolved^ That the commissary-general of prisoners be directed to 
take proper measures, until the further order of Congress, for the 
temporary supply of the British prisoners of war captivated by the 
Army of the United States, with such quotas of rations as are fur¬ 
nished our prisoners in the hands of the enemy by the British com¬ 
missaries. 

* * * 

Ordered, That the Secretary furnish the commissary-general of 
prisoners with the copy of the letter of January 19th, 1778, from Sir 
William Howe to General Washington, with the papers enclosed, 
specifying the quota of rations furnished to our prisoners in the 
enemy’s hands by the British commissaries. 

November 7, 1778. —Commissaries of purchases and supplies and issues were directed 
to comply with requisitions made upon them by the commissary-general of prisoners. 

Jamcary 9, 1779. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of prisoners be furnished 
with money, from time to time, by the Board of Treasury, for the 
purpose of subsisting the officers and soldiers of the United States 
while in captivity, and in the actual possession of the enemy, and to 
accommodate them with sufficient sums, on account, to defray their 
travelling expenses to their homes or regiments. 

That the accounts of all prisoners who shall hereafter be released 
from captivity, for the pay and subsistence due to them while in the 


644 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

actual possession of the enemy, be received and adjusted by the said 
commissary-general, who, after charging them with the moneys he 
shall have supplied to them, shall certify the sums due thereon to the 
pa 3 ^master-general, the deputy paymaster-general of any military 
department, or paymaster of the Board of War and Ordnance, as shall 
be most convenient for the prisoners respectively, which sums shall be 
paid b^^ the said paymasters upon warrants to be given for the same, 
as usual for other payments made by them. 

* * * 

That, for defraying the expenses of officers and soldiers released 

from captivity, on their way home, or to join their regiments, the 
said commissary-general of prisoners, ... in settling the 
accounts aforesaid, make an allowance of one da^^’s pa}^ and rations for 
every twenty miles such officers and soldiers had or have to travel 
to their homes, in case of the expiration of their time of service, or 
release on parole, or if otherwise, to join their regiments. 

* * * 

That the commissary-general of prisoners be allowed a clerk to 

enable him to perform the extra duty above assigned to him, to assist 
in the usual business of his department, and perform the duties and 
receive the pay end rations of a deputy commissary of prisoners. 

January ^3, 1779. 

Resolved^ That the commissary of prisoners reside at the head- 
(juarters of the Army; that he shall make no exchange of prisoners 
but such as shall be directed by Congress, the Board of War, or Com¬ 
mander in Chief, or, with respect to marine prisoners, b\" the marine 
committee. 

That in future instructions respecting his department shall be trans¬ 
mitted to him through the Commander in Chief. 

That whenever the commissarv shall think it necessary to send a flag 
into the enemy’s lines with provisions for the prisoners or on any other 
business, he shall make application to the Commander in Chief, who 
will judge of the cause and propriety in point of time and other cir¬ 
cumstances. 


March 16, 1779. 

Resolved, That all warrant officers on the civil staff of the Army 
be put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

April 8, 1779. 

Resolved, . . . That effectual provision be made by a com¬ 
missary of prisoners for supplying such of our people as remain 
unexchanged. 

That a deputy commissary of prisoners be appointed for the southern 
army by the commanding officer thereof. 

Apnl 8, 1779 .—Until the establishment of a cartel for general exchange the com¬ 
manding officer of the southern army was authorized to exchange prisoners of war. 


645 


COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 

Jm\s 7, 1779. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of prisoners be authorized, 
from time to time, to pay to the order of officers and soldiers in cap¬ 
tivity, any sums not exceeding the amount of their pay and sub¬ 
sistence, in order to enable them to assist their families, and that he 
make rnonthly returns to the Paymaster-General of their accounts, 
respectively. 

Augmt 19, 1779. 

Resolved, That the pay and subsistence of a colonel in the line be 
allowed to the commissary-general of prisoners. 

Resolved, That he be entitled to draw yearly from the stores of the 
clothier-general a full suit of clothes on the sanie terms as officers of 
the line receive the clothing furnished pursuant to the resolution of 
Congress, November the 26th, 1777. 

September 1, i77.9.—Congress authorized the commissary-general of purchases to 
appoint a deputy for the especial purpose of providing for the troops of the conven¬ 
tion of Saratoga and their guards during their stay in Virginia. 

October 18, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to give the necessary 
order . . . for supplying the convention troops with rations of 

Indian meal in lieu of flour. . . . 

November 16, 1779. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of prisoners be directed, 
until the further order of Congress, to make the same provision for 
the Spanish prisoners in New York as is made for the prisoners of the 
United States, keeping a separate account thereof. 

January IS, 1780. 

Resolved, That all prisoners of war, whether captivated by the Army 
or Navy of the United States, or by the subjects, troops, or ships of 
any particular State, shall be delivered into the care and custody of 
the commissary-general of prisoners, his deputies or assistants, and 
be deemed and treated in all respects as prisoners of war to the United 
States. 

That it be earnestly recommended to the governments of the 
respective States that they make no exchanges of prisoners, to the 
intent that all exchanges may be made through the commissary-general 
of prisoners, by direction of Congress or the Commander in Chief or 
board of admiralty, and when prisoners are taken by the particular 
subjects, troops, or vessels of any State not in the service of the 
United States, or by private ships or vessels of war fitted out in any 
particular State, these shall be first exchanged, so far as is necessary, 
for the subjects or inhabitants of the same State taken by the sub 
jects, adherents, ships, or vessels of the enemy, and the overplus, if 
any, shall go towards redeeming the prisoners in the hands of the 
enemy, without regard to their being subjects or inhabitants of any 
particular State. 


646 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


That all masters or commanders of private ships or vessels of war 
shall take the utmost care to bring into port all prisoners captivated 
by them. And if from necessity they shall be obliged to dismiss any 
prisoners at sea, they shall, on return from their cruise, make report 
thereof, on oath, to the judge of the admiralty of the State to which 
they belong, or in which they arrive, within 20 days after their 
arrival, with their reasons for such dismission. And if the judge shall 
not be satisfied with the reasons assigned, or if it shall appear that the 
prisoners were discharged .to avoid the trouble and expense of bring¬ 
ing them into port and delivering them into custody, or in any wise 
unnecessarily, then the judge shall transmit an account thereof to the 
executive of the State, who are requested to examine into the matter 
and vacate the commission granted to the said delinquent master or 
commander of the ship or vessel if they are of the opinion that such 
dismission was improper. 

That all prisoners of war captivated by private ships or vessels of 
war be delivered by and at the expense of the masters or owners of 
such ships or vessels to a commissary of prisoners nearest the place 
of their landing, or into the nearest county gaol, on pain of forfeiture 
of the commission granted to such private ship or vessel. 

That on such delivery of the prisoners into the gaol the gaoler shall 
be obliged to inform the government of the State wherein the said 
prisoners are landed, or, in case of their residence at too great a dis¬ 
tance, the lieutenant or commanding officer of the militia of the county 
wherein such prisoners are landed, the commissary-general of pris¬ 
oners, or his deputy; that if the said prisoners are not deemed by the 
executive of the State, or the said commanding officer of the militia, 
to be in a place of sufficient security, they may be removed under 
proper guards to a place or places of greater safety at the expense of 
the United States. And the executive powers of the respective States 
are requested to give the necessary orders to the commanding officers 
of militia on this subject, and to pay the expenses of escorting and 
transporting the prisoners, charging the same to the United States. 
The said executives are also requested to give orders to the officers of 
their militia to take immediate charge of all prisoners of war capti¬ 
vated by the ships and vessels of war belonging to the United States 
or to any particular State, and to convey them, at the expense of the 
United States, to the nearest commissaiy of prisoners, or to the county 
gaol, and also direct the like steps to be taken in regard to their 
removal to places of greater safety, as is provided in the case of pris¬ 
oners captured by private vessels. 

That it be recommended to the legislatures of the respective States 
effectually to provide, at the expense of the United States, for the 
delivery and safe-keeping of all prisoners captivated by their respec¬ 
tive subjects out of vessels stranded or cast on shore on their coasts, 
obliging the parties taking prisoners to deliver them to the nearest 
commissaiy of prisoners or into the nearest gaol in case no commissary 
of prisoners is stationed within convenient distance to the place of 
capture, and in case of neglect or misconduct in the persons so taking 
the prisoners, that they forfeit all right to the vessel, her tackle, 
apparel, and furniture so cast on shore, or the property they may 
save or be otherwise entitled to out of such vessel, or imposing such 
other penalty as the said legislatures shall respectively think proper. 

That it be recommended to the said legislatures to provide and 


COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 


647 


direct that all gaolers receive and deliver prisoners of war without 
charging any fee or reward to the persons delivering them into or 
taking them by proper authority out of their custody, the reasonable 
expenses of supporting such prisoners in gaol to be paid by the 
government of the State wherein they shall be confined and charged 
to the United States, except where they can and shall be otherwise 
provided for by the proper ofiicer in the service of the United States. 
And the gaoler shall transmit a copy of his charges against the United 
States for account of prisoners of war to the commissaiy-general of 
prisoners, or his nearest deputy, when any prisoners leave the gaol, 
either for removal to places of greater security or for exchange. 
That prisoners of war, either on their march or in confinement, be 
furnished with only two-thirds of a soldier’s ration. 

That none but sick or wounded prisoners be allowed carriages at 
public expense. 

That all prisoners on parole pay their own expenses, and such 
expenses shall be paid before they shall be exchanged. * 

That all officers, prisoners of war to the United States, unless in 
hospitals, pay their physicians, surgeons, and attendants. 

Tnat the commissary-general of prisoners and his deputies make 
regular monthly returns to the Board of War of the numbers, situa¬ 
tion, and exchanges of all prisoners under their charge, and that they 
also give the said board such occasional information of all material 
transactions in their department as circumstances from time to time 
render necessary, or when they shall be required by the board to do 
so, under pain of being suspended or dismissed by the said board. 

That all exchanges of prisoners made in consequence of the fore¬ 
going resolutions shall be soldier for soldier and sailor for sailor. 

March SI, 1780 .—Congress accepted the resignation of John Beatty, commissary- 
general of prisoners. 


April 16, 1780. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary-general of pris¬ 
oners, and, the ballots being taken. Colonel Joseph Ward was elected. 


July 16, 1780. 


Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a sep¬ 
arate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many bag¬ 
gage wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to wit: 

* * * 

Commissary of prisoners, 1 two-horse wagon or 2 bathorses. 

* * * 

Deputy commissary of prisoners with a separate army, 1 two-horse 
wagon or 2 bathorses. 

* * * 

Resolved, That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bathorses by these regulations, there be issued to . . . ; com¬ 

missary of prisoners two; deputy commissary of prisoners with a sep¬ 
arate army, two; deputy serving with the main army, one; . . . 


G48 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

August 5, 1780. 

Resolmd.^ That Captain George Turner be discharged from the office 
of commissary of prisoners, ... 

Besolved^ That Brig. General Moultrie be, and hereby is, authorized 
to appoint a suitable person to act as commissary of prisoners in 
Charleston and return the name of the person appointed to Congress 
for their approbation, if they shall judge proper. 


August 7, 1780. 

Ordered, That General Washington take the necessary steps for 
establishing a resident commissary of prisoners at New York, and 
Major-General Gates another in South Carolina or Georgia, to have 
the care of prisoners in those places, according to the usage and cus¬ 
toms of war. 


August 1%, 1780. 

Ordered, That Brig. General Moultrie make return of the person 
whom he shall appoint commissary of prisoners in Charleston to 
Major-General Gates or the commanding officer in the Southern 
Department for his approbation; and so much of the resolution of the 
5th as requires Brig. General Moultrie to make return to Congress be, 
and is hereby, repealed. 

* * * 

September 15, 1780. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary-general of pris¬ 
oners; and, the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Abraham Skinner was elected, having been previously nomi¬ 
nated by Mr. Henry. 


■ October 9, 1780. 

Besolved, That the agent for Continental prisoners at New York be, 
and hereby is, directed to issue supplies to the navy prisoners in the 
same manner as to those of the land army, as practiced by him here¬ 
tofore; and that he make distinct returns to the Board of Admiralty of 
all supplies by him issued to the nav}^ prisoners, distinguishing those 
in Continental service from those in private ships of war, and the 
respective ships and States to which the latter belonged when taken. 

October 19, 1780 .—General Washington was authorized to carry out his proposals 
for appointing a commissary of prisoners to reside with the American and British 
armies, respectively, or to make such other agreement as he shall judge proper for 
the appointment of commissaries of prisoners. 

February 5, 1781. 

Ordered, That the medical committee give the directions necessary 
for . . . removing the sick from the new gaol in their city to 

some proper place to be provided as a hospital for prisoners. 


(X)MMIS8ARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 


649 


March S, 1781. 

Ordered.^ That the convention prisoners, as well in the State of 
Maryland as Virginia, be removed, the British to Yorktown, and the 
Germans to Lancaster, in the State of Pennsylvania, or such other 
place or places within the said State as the executive thereof shall 
direct; and that it be, and hereby is, recommended to the executive of 
the State of Virginia to superintend the removal, safe-keeping, and 
supply of the Germans to Noland’s Ferry, on Potomac River; from 
which place it is recommended to the executive of the State of Mary¬ 
land to superintend their removal, safe-keeping, and supply to the 
borders of that State, and to continue their guard to Lancaster, the 
State of Pennsylvania furnishing the necessary supplies; that it be, and 
it is, also recommended to the State of Marylancl to provide a guard 
and furnish the supplies for the convention prisoners to be removed 
from Fredericktown to Yorktown, the guard to continue on to York¬ 
town, but the supplies, after entering Pennsylvania, to be furnished 
by that State; that the executive of the State of Pennsylvania be, 
and hereby is, requested to order the supplies agreeably to the above 
resolutions and make the necessary preparations for the reception of 
prisoners at the towns or places assigned as aforesaid, and upon their 
arrival at those places, respectively, the Board of War take order for 
their future security and supply. 

September 18, 1781. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be, and are hereby, directed to set 
apart 500 British prisoners, including a due proportion of officers, to 
wffiom exchange shall be denied, until the American prisoners now in 
Great Britain be returned to these States by exchange or otherwise. 

That the Board of War report a plan and an estimate of the expense 
for erecting Symsbury mines, in the State of Connecticut, into a State 
prison for the reception of British prisoners of war, and for the pur¬ 
pose of retaliation. 

September 25, “The deputy commissary of prisoners will report to head¬ 

quarters all prisoners of war immediately after their capture.” {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Willkmisburgh .) 

October 16, 1781 .—Congress declared that their order of August 5, 1780, for the dis¬ 
charge of Capt. George Turner, did not proceed from any malpractice or dishonorable 
procedure on his part. 

November 2S, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance and Board of War be, 
and hereby are, authorized and directed to take immediate order for 
the safe-keeping and support of the prisoners of war in the possession 
of the United States, so as to ensure their safety as much as may be, 
and to render their support less burthensome to the finances of these 
States. 

A^rril 10, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the commissary-general of prisoners, so 

far as respects the securing of military prisoners and making returns 
of them, take his directions from the Secretary at War. 

* * * 

That the care and direction of prisoners of war be vested in the 
Secretary at War, so far as respects their safe-keeping. 


650 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


April ^3, 1782, 


Resolved,, , , , That the supernumerary junior lieutenants, 

beyond the number of ten in each regiment of infantry, be reduced, 

. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the 

staff departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective, 
ranks in the Army and be entitled to the full pa}^ and subsistence be¬ 
longing to their rank in the line, as a compensation for their respective 
services in the staff, without any other allowance whatsoever. . . . 


My 3, 1782, 


Resolved^ That the Secretary at War be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized and empowered to cause courts-martial to be forthwith holden on 
the several commissaries and assistant commissaries of prisoners, at 
York, Reading, and Lancaster for disobedience of orders and neglect 
of dut}^ in suffering the escape of prisoners at those posts; 

And that the Secretary at War be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
appoint proper persons to take charge of the prisoners of war at the 
said places until the said commissaries shall be discharged from their 
arrest or Congress shalLotherwise direct. 


My 214 ,, 1782, 


Resolved, That all resolutions and appointments respecting the 
department of the commissary-general of prisoners be, and hereby are 
re lied. 



That the commander in chief be, and hereby is, empowered to 
appoint, from time to time, a commissary of prisoners, who shall be 
subject to his orders and instructions. 

That the commanding officer of the southern arni}^ have also power 
to appoint from time to time a commissary of prisoners, who shall be 
subject to his orders and instructions. 

That the power of negotiating the exchange of marine prisoners be 
henceforth vested in the agent of marine, who is hereby authorized to 
appoint a commissary for marine prisoners, to be subject to his orders 
and instructions. 

That the Secretary at War be, and he is hereby, authorized from 
time to time to appoint so many persons as he may find necessary to 
assist him in superintending and safe-keeping all prisoners of war, 
reporting such appointments to Congress as soon as they shall be 
made. 

d-hat the Secretaiy at War direct returns to be made once in every 
three months (or oftener if applied for) to the commander in chief of 
all land prisoners, and to the agent of marine of all marine prisoners, 
who shall be under his charge. 

That the pay of the commissaries for the Army shall be 75 dollars 
per month each, and they shall each be allowed two rations of provi¬ 
sions per day and 12| dollars per month subsistence, and also 6f dollars 
per nionth each for a servant, for whom they shall draw from the 
public the clothing and ration allowed to a private soldier, together 
with forage for two horses each, which pay and allowance shall include 
what they may be entitled to from the public as officers in the Army. 


COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 


651 


That the commissary to be appointed by the agent of marine shall 
receive in full for his services, including any pay or allowances that he 
may be entitled to as an officer of the United States, the sum of 1,200 
dollars per annum. 

That the allowance of pay and rations to the persons to be appointed 
by the Secretary at War to assist him in superintending and safe¬ 
keeping prisoners of war shall not exceed 40 dollars per month and four 
rations per day, or subsistence equivalent, including what they may be 
entitled to as officers of the Army. 

S^tember 22, 1782 .—“By virtue of the power vested in the Commander in Chief 
by the resolve of the honorable the Congress of the 24th July last, Lieut. Col. Wm. S. 
Smith IS appointed commissary of prisoners to the army in this quarter.” [Orders, 
General Headquarters, VerplancFs Point.) 


October 1782. 

Resolved., . . . That the following be the proportion of wagons 

and bathorses to the different ranks of officers, 

* * * 

Commissary of prisoners, one two-horse wagon. 

Deputy commissary of prisoners, southern army, one two-horse 
wagon. 

-X- * -X- 

That there be allowed for saddle horses— 

* * * 

Commissary of prisoners, 2 rations. 

Deputy with a separate army, 2 rations. 

* * * 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of July 6,1812 {2 Stats., 777). 

AN ACT for the safe-keeping and accommodation of prisoners of war.^ 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author¬ 
ized to make such regulations and arrangements for the safe-keeping, 
support, and exchange of prisoners of war as he may deem expedient, 
until the same shall be otherwise provided for my law; . . . 


Repealed by act of March 3, 1817 (3-358). 



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BURKAU OF HEFIJOEFS, FREEDilEN, AND 
ARANDONED LANDS. 


Nlay 12, 1865.—Nlaj. Oliver (). Howard (Maine), Conimissioner. 
June 80, 1872.—Bureau discontinued. 


658 













JUIKEAU OF HKFrOEES, FI5EEOJ1EN, ANO ABANOONEl) 

LANDS. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 3, 1865 (13 Stats., 507). 


AX ACT to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmeii and refugees. 

That there id hereby established in the War Department, to continue 
during’ the present war of rebellion and for one year thereafter, a 
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Altandoned Lands, to which shall 
be committed, as hereinafter provudt'd, the supervision and m^-nage- 
ment of all abandoned lands and the control of all subjects relating to 
refugees and freedmen from rebel States, or from any district of 
countiy within the territoiy embraced in the operations of the Army, 
under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed ly the head of 
the Bureau and approved by the President. The said Bureau shall be 
under the management and control of a commissioner, to be appointed 
by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
whose compensation shall be three thousand dollars per annum, and 
such number of clerks as may be assigned to him by the Secretary of 
War, not exceeding one chief clerk, two of the fourth class, two of the 
third class, and five of the first class. And the commissioner, and all 
persons appointed under this act, shall, before entering upon their 
duties, take the oath of office prescribed in an act entitled “An act to 
prescribe an oath of office, and for other purposes,” approved July 
second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two; and the commissioner and 
chief clerk shall, before entering upon their duties, give bonds to the 
Treasurer of the L^nited States, the former in the sum of fifty thousand 
dollars and the latter in the sum of ten thousand dollars, conditioned 
for the faithful discharge of their duties, respectively, with securities 
to be approved as sufficient by the Attorney-General, which bonds 
shall be filed in the office of the First Comptroller of the Treasury, 
to be by him put in suit for the benefit of any injured party upon any 
breach of the conditions thereof. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of War ma}' direct such issues of pro¬ 
visions, clothing, and fuel as he may deem needful for the immediate 
and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees 
and freedmen and their wives and children, under such rules and regu¬ 
lations as he may direct. 

Sec. 3. That the President may, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, appoint an assistant commissioner for each of the States 
declared to be in insurrection, not exceeding ten in number, who shall, 
under the direction of the commissioner, aid in the execution of the 

655 



656 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


provisions of this act, and he shall give a bond to the Treasurer of the 
United States in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, in the form and 
manner prescribed in the first section of this act. Each of said com¬ 
missioners shall receive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred 
dollars in full compensation for all his services. And an}" military 
officer may be detailed and assigned to duty under this act without 
increase of pay or allowances. The commissioner shall, before the 
commencement of each regular session of Congress, make full report 
of his proceedings, with exhibits of the state of his accounts, to the 
President, who shall communicate the same to Congress, and shall also 
make special reports whenever required to do so by the President or 
either House of Congress; and the assistant commissioners shall make 
quarterly reports of their proceedings to the commissioner, and also 
such other special reports as from time to time may be required. 

Seg. 4. That the commissioner, under the. direction of the Presi¬ 
dent, shall have authority to set apart for the use of loyal refugees 
and freedmen such tracts of land within the insurrectionary States as 
shall have been abandoned, or to which the United States shall have 
acquired title by confiscation or sale, or otherwise; and to every male 
citizen, whether refugee or freedmen as aforesaid, there shall be 
assigned not more than forty acres of such land, and the person to 
whom it was so assigned shall be protected in the use and enjoyment 
of the land for the term of three years, at an annual rent not exceed¬ 
ing six per centum upon the value of such land as it was appraised by 
the State authorities in the year eighteen hundred and sixty for the 
purpose of taxation, and in case no such appraisal can be found, then 
the rental shall be based upon the estimated value of the land in said 
year, to be ascertained in such manner as the commissioner may by 
regulation prescribe. At the end of said term, or at any time during 
said term, the occupants of any parcels so assigned may purchase the 
land, and receive such title thereto as the United States can convey, 
upon paying therefor the value of the land as ascertained and fixed for 
the purpose of determining the annual rent aforesaid. 

* * * 

Act of July 16, 1866 {IJ,. Stats., 173). ■ 

AN ACT to continue in force and to amend “An act to establish a Bureau for the 
Relief of Freedmen and Refugees,” and for other purposes. 

That the act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and 
Refugees, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, 
shall continue in force for the term of two years from and after the 
passage of this act. 

Sec. 2. That the supervision and care of said Bureau shall extend 
to all loyal refugees and freedmen, so far as the same shall be neces¬ 
sary to enable them as speedily as practicable to become self-support¬ 
ing citizens of the United States, and to aid them in making the 
freedom conferred by proclamation of the Commander in Chief, by 
emancipation under the laws of States, and by constitutional amend¬ 
ment, available to them and beneficial to the Republic. 

Sec. 3. That the President shall, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, appoint two assistant commissioners in addition to those 
authorized by the act to which this is an amendment, who shall give 


BUEEAU OF KEFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 657 


like bonds and receive the same annual salaries provided in said act; 
and each of the assistant commissioners of the Bureau shall have 
charge of one district containing such refugees or freedmen, to be 
assigned him by the commissioner, with the approval of the President. 
And the commissioner shall, under the direction of the President, and 
so far as the same shall be, in his judgment, necessary for the efficient 
and economical administration of the affairs of the Bureau, appoint 
such agents, clerks, and assistants as may be required for the proper 
conduct of the Bureau. Military officers or enlisted men may be 
detailed for service and assigned to duty under this act, and the Presi¬ 
dent may, if in his judgment safe and judicious so to do, detail from 
the Army all the officers and agents of this Bureau; but no officer so 
assigned shall have increase of pay or allowaTices. Each agent or 
clerk, not heretofore authorized by law, not being a military officer, 
shall have an annual salary of not less than five hundred dollars nor 
more than twelve hundred dollars, according to the service required of 
him. And it shall be the duty of the commissioner, when it can be 
done consistently with public interest, to appoint, as assistant com¬ 
missioners, agents, and clerks, such men as have proved their ioyalt}^ 
})y faithful service in the armies of the Union cfuring the rebellion. 
And all persons appointed to service under this act and the act to 
which this is an amendment shall be so far deemed in the military 
service of the United States as to be under the military jurisdiction 
and entitled to the military protection of the Government while in the 
discharge of the duties of their office. 

Sec. 4 . That officers of the Veteran Reserve Corps or of the volun¬ 
teer service now on duty in the Freedmen’s Bureau as assistant 
commissioners, agents, medical officers, or in other capacities, whose 
regiments or corps have been or may hereafter be mustered out of 
service, may be retained upon such duty as officers of said Bureau, 
with the same compensation as is now provided by law for their 
respective grades; and the Secretary of War shall have power to fill 
vacancies until other officers can be detailed in their places without 
detriment to the public service. 

Sec. 5. That the second section of the act to which this is an amend¬ 
ment shall be deemed to authorize the Secretary of War to issue such 
medical stores or other supplies and transporbition and afford such 
medical or other aid as may be needful for the purposes named in said 
section: Provided^ That no person shall be deemed ‘‘destitute,” ‘‘suf¬ 
fering,” or “dependent upon the Government for support,” within 
the meaning of this act, who is able to find employment, and could, by 
proper industry and exertion, avoid such destitution, suffering, or 
dependence. 

^ * 

Sec. 9 . That the assistant commissioners for South Carolina and 
Georgia are hereby authorized to examine all claims to lands in their 
respective States which are claimed under the provisions of General 
Sherman’s special field order, and to give each person having a valid 
claim a warrant upon the direct tax commissioners for South Carolina 
for twenty acres of land, and the said direct tax commissioners shall 
issue to every person, or to his or her heirs, but in no case to any 
assigns, presenting such warrant, a lease of twenty acres of land, as 
provide(i for in section seven, for the term of six years; but at any 
time thereafter, upon the payment of a sum not exceeding one dollar 


S. Doc. 229-42 



658 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


and fifty cents per acre, the person holding such lease shall be entitled 
to a certificate of sale of said tract of twenty acres from the direct tax 
commissioners or such officer as may be authorized to issue the same; 
but no warrant shall be held valid longer than two years after the issue 
of the same. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 12. That the commissioner shall have power to seize, hold, use, 
lease, or sell all buildings and tenements, and any lands appertaining to 
the same, or otherwise, formerl}^ held under color of title by the late 
so-called Confederate States, and not heretofore disposed of by the 
United States, and any buildings or lands held in trust for the same by 
any person or persons, and to use the same or appropriate the proceeds 
derived therefrom to the education of the freed people; and whenever 
the Bureau shall cease to exist such of said so-called Confederate States 
as shall have made provision for the education of their citizens with¬ 
out distinction of color shall receive the sum remaining unexpended 
of such sales or rentals, which shall be distributed among said States 
for educational purposes in proportion to their population. 

Sec. 13. That the commissioner of this Bureau shall at all times 
cooperate with private benevolent associations of citizens in aid of 
freedmen, and with agents and teachers duly accredited and appointed 
by them, and shall hire or provide by lease buildings for purposes of 
education whenever such association shall, without cost to the Govern¬ 
ment, provide suitable teachers and means of instruction; and he shall 
furnish such protection as may be required for the safe conduct of 
such schools. 

Sec. 14. That in every State or district wTero the ordinary course 
of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, and until 
the same shall be fully restored, and in every State or district whose 
constitutional relations to the Government have been practically dis¬ 
continued by the rebellion, and until such State shall have been restored 
in such relations and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the 
United States, the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be 
parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and 
convey real and personal property, and to have full and equal benefit 
of all laws and proceedings concerning personal liberty, personal 
security, and the acquisition, enjoyment, and disposition of estate, real 
and personal, including the constitutional right to bear arms, shall be 
secured to and enjoyed by all the citizens of such State or district, with¬ 
out respect to race or color or previous condition of slaveiy. And when¬ 
ever in either of said States or districts the ordinary course of judicial 
proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, and until the same 
shall be fully restored, and until such State shall have been restored 
in its constitutional relations to the Government and shall be duly 
represented in the Congress of the United States, the President shall, 
through the commissioner and the officers of the bureau, and under such 
rules and regulations as the President, through the Secretary of War, 
shall prescribe, extend military protection and have military jurisdic¬ 
tion over all cases and questions concerning the free enjoyment of 
such immunities and rights; and no penalty or punishment for any 
violation of law shall be imposed or permitted because of race or color 
or previous condition of slavery, other or greater than the penalty or 
punishment to which white persons may be liable by law for the like 
oft'ense. But the jurisdiction conferred by this section upon the officers 
of the bureau shall not exist in any State where the ordinary course of 


BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 659 

judicial proceedings has not been interrupted by the rebellion, and 
shall cease in every StatQ when the courts of the State and the United 
States are iiot disturbed in the peaceable course of justice, and after 
^ich State shall be fully restored in its constitutional relations to the 
Uoyernment and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the 
United States. 

Sec. 15. That all officers, agents, and employees of this bureau, 
betore entenng upon the duties of their office, shall take the oath pre¬ 
scribed in the first section of the act to which this is an amendment, 
and all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act 
are hereby repealed. 


Ac^ of ALarcK 1H67 {U Stats., 1^85). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty ... of the Freedmen’s 

Bureau to prohibit and prevent whipping or maiming of the person 
as a punishment for any crime, misdemeanor, or otfense, by any pre¬ 
tended civil or military authority in any State lately in rebellion until 
the civil government of such State shall have been restored and shall 
have been recognized by the Congress of the United States. 

* * * 


Act of Afarch 1867 {U Stats., 5Jf). 

AN ACT to regulate the disposition of an irregular fund in the custody of the 
Freedmen’s Bureau. 

Whereas the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, 
and Abandoned Lands reports a retained bounty fund, derived from a 
portion of the State bounties of certain colored soldiers enlisted in 
Virginia and North Carolina during the years eighteen hundred and 
sixtj^-four and eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and by virtue of 
General Order Number Ninety, Department of Virginia and North 
Carolina, series of eighteen hundred and sixty-four, holden by the 
superintendent of freedmen’s affairs, but turned over to the said freed¬ 
men’s bureau upon its organization; and whereas the said commissioner 
has in his possession the names of those soldiers from whom the said 
money was taken; and whereas he has uniformly returned the same 
upon the application or discovery of legal representatives, but retains 
a considerable portion thereof belonging to soldiers who are either 
deceased or who can not be found: Therefore, 

That the said Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, 
and Abandoned Lands, or his successor in office, be, and he is hereby, 
constituted the lawful custodian of said retained bounty fund, and 
appointed trustee of the same for the benefit of said colored soldiers 
or their lawful representatives. 

Sec. 2. That the said commissioner be, and he is hereby, specially 
authorized and empowered to invest the said fund, or any portion 
thereof, in bonds of the United States for the exclusive benefit of the 
said colored soldiers or their legal representatives: Provided, however, 
That a sufficient amount of the same in cash be retained uninvested to 


660 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


meet all lawful claims thereupon that will probably be presented for 
payment: And provided further^ That any portion of the said fund 
which may remain unexpended when the said l)ureau shall cease to 
exist shall be accounted for by said commissioner to the Treasury of 
the United States. 

Resohition of 2farch ^9, 1867 {15 Stats. ^ 26). 

A RESOLUTION in reference to the collection and i)ayment of moneys due colored 
soldiers, sailors, and marines, or their heirs. 

Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 
of Amefrica in Congress assembled., That all checks and treasury certifi¬ 
cates to be issued in the settlement of claims for pa}", bounty, prize 
money, or other moneys due to colored soldiers, sailors, or marines, 
or their legal representatives now residing, or who may have resided, 
in any State in which slavery existed in the year eighteen hundred 
and sixty, the claim for which has been or may be prosecuted by an 
agent or attorney, shall be made payable to the commissioner of the 
Freedmen’s Bureau, who shall pay the said agent or attorney his 
lawful fees and expenses, and shall hold the balance subject to the 
order of the claimants on satisfactory identification; but no money 
shall be paid to any person except the claimant or his or her legal 
representatives, if deceased; nor shall any power of attorney, transfer, 
or assignment of the amount of said claims, or any part thereof, be 
recognized or allowed by the commissioner, or by any officer or agent 
acting under him; and it shall be the duty of the said commissioner, 
the officers and agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau, to facilitate as far 
as possible the discovery, identification, and payment of the claimants. 

Sec. 55. And he it further resolved., That the commissioner of the 
Freedmen’s Bureau shall be held responsible for the safe custody and 
faithful disbursement of the funds hereby intrusted to him. . 

* * * 


Resoliiti<m, of ALarch 80, 1867 {15 Stats ., 28). 

A RESOLUTION for the relief of the destitute in tlie Southern and Southwestern 

States. 

Resolvedhy^ the Senate a7id House of Representatives of the United States 
of America m Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and 
hereby is, empowered and directed to issue supplies "of food sufficient 
to prevent starvation and extreme want to any and all classes of des¬ 
titute or helpless persons of the people in those Southern and South¬ 
western States where a failure of the crops and other causes have 
occasioned widespread destitution; that the issues be through the Freed¬ 
men’s Bureau, under such regulations as the Secretary of War shall 
prescribe. And to that end the Secretary of War is hereby authorized 
and directed, through the commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau, to 
apply so much as he may deem necessary for the purposes aforesaid of 
the unexpended moneys heretofore appropriated to supply freedmen 
and refugees with provisions or rations: Rrovided, That the expendi¬ 
ture shall not extend beyond the present appropriations already made 
for the Freedmen’s Bureau. 


BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 661 
Resolution of January iU, {15 iStats., 

JOINT RESOLUTION for the relief of destitute persons in the Sontli. 

I htit the SxHTotary of jir ])o hereby authorized to issue, for the 
relief of any and all classe^ of destitutes in the South, sueh desiccated 
potatoes and desiccated mixed veo-ettibles as Inive accumulated during 
the war and are not needed for use in the Army; the same to be issued 
under the direction of the commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, 
Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. 

March 10y 186S (15-41 ).—Commissioner of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned 
Lands cliarged with expenditure of tlie $15,000 appropriated for the relief of the 
destitute in the District of Columbia. 


^iet of July 6', 1SG8 {15 Stats., 8S). 

AN ACT to continue the Bun^au for tlie Relief of Freedmen and Refugees, and for 

other purposes. 

That the act entitled ‘‘An act to establish a Bureau for tlie Relief of 
Freedmen and Refugees,” approved Mai*ch three, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-live, and the act entitled ‘'An act to continue in force and to 
amend ‘An act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and 
Refugees,’ and for other purposes,” passed on the sixteenth of duly, 
anno l)omini eighteen hundred and sixty-six, shall continue in force 
for the term of one year from and after the sixteenth of duly, in the 
year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, excepting so far as 
the same shall lie herein modilied. And the Secretaiy of War is hereby 
directiMl to reestablish said bureau where the same has been wholly or 
in part discontinued: Provided, [That] he shall lie satistied that the 
personal safety of freedmen shall reipiire it. 

Sec. ^1. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War to dis¬ 
continue the operations of the bureau in any State whenever such 
State shall be fully restored in its constitutional relations with the 
Government of the L^nited States, and shall be duly represented in the 
Congress of the United States, unless, upon advising with the com¬ 
missioner of the bureau, and upon full consideration of the condition 
of freedmen’s all'airs in such State, the Secretary of War shall be of 
opinion that the further continuance of the bureau shall be necessary: 
Provided, hmrevca\ d'hat the educational division of said bureau shall 
not be affected, or in any way interfered with, until such State shall 
have made suitable provision for the education of the children of 
freedmen within said State. 

Sec. 3 . That unexpended balances in the hands of the commissioner 
not required otherwise for the due execution of the law may be, in the 
discretion of the commissioner, applied for the education of freedmen 
and refugees, subject to the ])rovisions of laws applicable thereto. 

Sec. 4. That officers of the Veteran Reserve Corps, or of the volun¬ 
teer service, now on duty in the Freedmen’s Bureau as assistant com¬ 
missioners, agents, medical oflicers, or in other capacities, who have 
been or may be mustered out of service, may be retained by the com¬ 
missioner, when the same shall l)e re(iuired for the proper execution 
of the laws, as officers of the bureau, upon such duty and with the 
same pay, compensation, and all allowances, from the date of their 
appointment, as now provided b}^ law for their respective grades and 


662 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


duties at the dates of their muster out and discharge; and such officm*s 
so retained shall have, respectively, the same aiithority and jurisdiction 
as now conferred upon ‘‘officers of the bureau” 1)}^ act of Congress 
passed on the sixteenth of July, in the year eighteen hundred and 
sixty-six. 

Sec. 5. That the commissioner is hereby empowered to sell for cash, 
or by installments with ample security, school buildings and other 
buildings constructed for refugees and freedmen b}^ the bureau, to the 
associations, corporate bodies, or trustees who now use them for pur¬ 
poses of education or relief of want, under suitable guarantees that 
the purposes for which, such buildings were constructed shall be 
observed: Provided^ That all funds derived therefrom shall be returned 
to the bureau appropriation and accounted for to the Treasury of the 
United States. 


Act of Jxdy 1868 {IS Stats. ^ 193). 

AN ACT relatinjj; to the Freedmen’s Bureau, and providing for its discontinuance. 


That the duties and powers of Commissioner'of the Bureau for the 
Belief of Freedmen and Refugees shall continue to be discharged b}" the 
present commissioner of the bureau, and in case of vacancy in said 
office occurring by reason of his death or resignation, the same shall 
be filled by appointment of the President on the nomination of the 
Secretary of War, and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 
no officer of the Army shall be detailed for service as commissioner or 
shall enter upon the duties of commissioner unless appointed by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate; and all assistant commis¬ 
sioners, agents, clerks, and assistants shall be appointed by the Secre¬ 
tary of War, on the nomination of the commissioner of the bureau. 
In case of vacancy in the office of commissioner happening during 
the recess of the Senate, the duties of commissioner shall be discharged 
by the acting assistant adjutant-general of the bureau until such vacancy 
can be filled. 

Sec. 2. That the commissioner of the bureau shall, on the first day 
of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the sev¬ 
eral States within which said bureau has acted, and its operations shall 
be discontinued. But the educational department of the said bureau, 
and the collection and payment of moneys due the soldiers, sailors, and 
marines, or their heirs, shall be continued as now provided by law until 
otherwise ordered by act of Congress. 

Act of Ajpril 7, 1869 {16 Stats. ^ 8). 

AN ACT relating to freedmen’s hospitals. 

That the commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen is 
authorized and directed to continue the freedmen’s hospitals at Rich¬ 
mond, Virginia; Vicksburg, Mississippi; and in the District of Colum¬ 
bia, including the asylum for aged and infirm freedmen and for orphan 
children: Provided., That the expense thereof shall be paid by the com¬ 
missioner out of moneys heretofore appropriated for the use of the 
bureau: And provided firther^ That said hospitals shall be discon¬ 
tinued as soon as may be practicable in the discretion of the President 
of the United States. 


BUKEAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 668 


AH of June 10, 1872 {17 Stats., 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government fortlie 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and for 
other })urposeH. 

* -X- -X- 

JlureauofjRef ugees, I^reedmen, and AhandonedLands. . . . Pro¬ 

vided, That the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands' 
shall be discontinued from and after June thirtieth, eighteen hundred 
and seventy-two. 

* -X- -X- 

Decemher 15, 1S77 {^0-7 ).—In the event of the work of collecting and paying 
bounty and other claims of colored soldiers and sailors not being tinished before 
January 1, 1879, the bureau to be closed aud all i)apers connected therewith to be 
turned over to the Paymaster-General. 


^ The unfinished business of the bureau was turned over to the Adjutant-General 
Julv 1, 1872. The bureau of colored troops, in his office, was finally closed June 
30, 1879. 




PROVOS'r-MARSHAL-GENERA L’S B [1 REAP. 


Mar. 17, 1863.—Col. (Brig. Gen., April 21, 1864) James B. Fry (Illinois). 
Ang. 28, 1866.—Bureau discontinued. 


665 









PllOVOST-MAKSHAL-GENERAl. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of irarch 3, 1863 {12 Stats., 731). 

AN ACT for enrolling and (tailing out the national forces, and for other purposes. 

x- * -x- 

8ec. 4. That for greater convenience in enrolling, calling oat, and 
organizing the national forces, and for the arrest of deserters and spies 
of the eneni}", the United States shall be divided into districts, of which 
the District of Columbia shall constitute one, each Territory of the 
United States shall constitute one or more, as the President shall dlirect, 
and each Congressional district of the respective States, as fixed by a 
law of the State next preceding the enrollment, shall constitute one: 
Provided, That in States which have not by their laws been divided 
into two or more Congressional districts, the President of the United 
States shall divide the same into so many enrollment districts as he 
may deem fit and convenient. 

Sec. 5. That for each of said districts there shall be appointed by 
the President a provost-marshal, with the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a captain of cavalry, or an officer of said rank shall be detailed by 
the President, who shall be under the direction and subject to the 
orders of a Provost-Martial-General, appointed or detailed by the 
President of the United States, whose office shall be at the seat of gov¬ 
ernment, forming a separate bureau of the War Department, and whose 
rank, pay, and emoluments shall be those of a colonel of cavalry. 

Sec. 6 . That it shall be the duty of the Provost-Marshal-General, 
with the approval of the Secretary of War, to make rules and regula¬ 
tions for the government of his subordinates; to furnish them with 
the names and residences of all deserters from the Army, or any of 
the land forces in the service of the United States, including the 
militia, when reported to him by the commanding officers; to com- 
municate to them all orders of the President in reference to calling out 
the national forces; to furnish proper blanks and instructions for 
enrolling and drafting; to file and preserve copies of all enrollment lists; 
to require staled reports of all proceedings on the part of his subordi¬ 
nates; to audit all accounts connected with the service under his direc¬ 
tion; and to perform such other duties as the President may prescribe 
in carrying out the provisions of this act. 

Sec. T. That it shall be the duty of the provost-marshals to arrest 
all deserters, whether regulars, volunteers, militiamen, or persons 
called into the service under this or any other act of Congress, wher¬ 
ever they may be found, and to send them to the nearest military 
commander or military post; to detect, seize, and confine spies of the 

667 



668 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


eneiii}’. who shall, without unreasonable delay, be delivered to the cus¬ 
tody of the general commanding the department in which they nia}’^ be 
arrested, to be tried as soon as the exigencies of the service permit; 
to obey all lawful orders and regulations of the Provost-Marshal- 
General, and such as may be prescribed by law, concerning the enroll¬ 
ment and calling into service of the national forces. 

Sec. 8. That in each of said districts there shall be a board of 
enrollment, to be composed of the provost-marshal, as president, and 
two other persons, to be appointed by the President of the United 
States, one of whom shall be a licensed and practicing physician and 
surgeon. 

Sec. 9. That it shall be the duty of the said board to divide the dis¬ 
tricts into subdistricts of convenient size, if they shall deem it neces¬ 
sary, not exceeding two, without the direction of the Secretary of 
Wai, and to appoint, on or before the tenth day of March next, and 
in each alternate year thereafter, an enrolling officer for each subdis¬ 
trict and to furnish him with proper blanks and instructions; and he 
shall immediately proceed to enrol all persons subject to military duty, 
noting their respective places of residence, ages on the first day of 
July following, and their occupation, and shall, on or before the first 
day of April, report the same to the board of enrolment, to be con¬ 
solidated into one list, a copy of which shall be transmitted to the Pro¬ 
vost-Marshal-General on or before the first day of May succeeding the 
enrolment: Provided^ veverthelexs^ That if, from any cause, the duties 
presci’ibed by this section can not be performed within the time speci¬ 
fied, then the same shall be pei*fornied as soon thereafter as practicable. 

Sec. 10. That the enrolment of each class shall be made separately, 
and shall only embrace those whose ages shall be on the first day of 
Jul}^ thereafter between twenty and forty-five years. 

Sec. 11. That all persons thus enrolled shall be subject, for two 
years after the first day of July succeeding the enrollment, to be called 
into the militaiy service of the United States, and to continue in service 
during the present rebellion, not, however, exceeding the term of three 
years; and when called into service shall be placed on the same foot¬ 
ing, in all respects, as volunteers for three years or during the war, 
including advance pa}^ and bounty as now provided by law. 

Sec. 12. That whenever it may be necessary to call out the national 
forces for military service, the President is hereby authorized to assign 
to each district the number of men to be furnished by said district; 
and thereupon the enrolling board shall, under the direction of the 
President, make a draft of the required number, and fifty per cent in 
addition, and shall make an exact and complete roll of the names of 
the persons so drawn, and of the order in which they were drawn, so 
that the first drawn may stand fii’st upon the said roll, and the second 
ma}^ stand second, and so on. And the person so drawn shall be noti¬ 
fied of the same within ten days thereafter l)y a written or printed 
notice, to be served personally or by leaving a copy at the last place 
of residence, requiring them to appear at a designated rendezvous to 
report for duty. In assigning to the districts the number of men to 
be furnished therefrom, the President shall take into consideration 
the number of volunteers and militia furnished by and from the several 
States in which said districts are situated, and the period of their serv¬ 
ice since the commencement of the present rebellion, and shall so make 
said assignment as to equalize the numbers among the districts of the 


provost-marshal-general’s bureau. 


669 


several States, considering* and allowing for the numbers already fur¬ 
nished as aforesaid and the time of their service. 

Sec. 13. That any person drafted and notified to appear as afore¬ 
said may, on or before the day fixed for his appearance, furnish an 
acceptable substitute to take his place in the draft, or he may pav to 
such person as the Secretary of War may authorize to receive it, such 
sum, not exceeding three hundred dollars, as the Secretary may deter¬ 
mine, for the procuration of such substitute, which sum shall be fixed 
at a uniform rate liy a general order made at the time of ordering a 
draft for any State or Territory; and thereupon such person so fur¬ 
nishing the substitute, or })aying the money, shall be discharged from 
further liability under that draft. And any person failing to report 
after due service of notice as herein prescribed, without furnishing 
a substitute, or paying the required sum therefor, shall be deemed a 
deserter, and shall be arrested by the provost-marshal and sent to the 
nearest military post for trial by court-martial, unless, upon proper 
showing that he is not liable to do military duty, the board of enrol¬ 
ment shall relieve him from the draft. 

Sec. 14. That all drafted persons shall, on arriving at the rendezvous, 
be carefully inspected by the surgeon of the board, who shall truly 
report to the board the physical condition of each one; and all persons 
drafted and claiming exemption from milihiry duty on account of dis¬ 
ability, or any other cause, shall present their claims to be exemi)ted 
to the board, whose decision shall be final. 

Sec. 15. That any surgeon charged with the duty of such inspection 
who shall receive from any person whomsoever any money or other 
valuable thing, or agree, directly or indirectly, to receive the same to 
his own or another’s use for making an imperfect inspection or a false 
or incorrect report, or who shall wilfully neglect to make a faithful 
inspection and true report, shall be tried l)y"a court-martial, and, on 
conviction thereof, be punished byline not exceeding five hundred dol¬ 
lars nor less than two hundred, and be imprisoned at the discretion of 
the court, and l)e cashiered and dismissed from the service. 

Sec. 16. That as soon as the required number of able-bodied men 
liable to do military duty shall be ol)tained from the list of those 
drafted, the remainder shall be discharged. And all drafted persons 
reporting at the place of rendezvous shall be allowed travelling pay 
from their places of residence; and all persons discharged at the place 
of rendezvous shall be allowed travelling pay to their phices of resi¬ 
dence; and all expenses connected with the enrollment and draft, 
including subsistence while at the rendezvous, shall be paid from the 
appropriation for enrolling and drafting, under such regulations as the 
President of the United States shall prescribe; and all expenses con¬ 
nected with the arrest and return of deserters to their regiments, or 
such other duties as the provost-marshals shall be called upon to per¬ 
form, shall be paid from the appropriation for arresting deserters, 
under such regulations as the President of the United States shall pre¬ 
scribe: Provided^ The provost-marshals shall in no case receive com¬ 
mutation for transportation, or for fuel and quarters, but only for 
forage, when not furnished by the Government, together with actual 
expenses of postage, stationery, and clerk hire authorized by the 
Provost-Marshal-General. 

Sec. 17. That any person enrolled and drafted according to the pro¬ 
visions of this act who shall furnish an acceptable substitute shall 


GTO LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 


thereupon receive from the board of enrollment a certificate of dis¬ 
charge from such draft, which shall exempt him from military duty 
during the time for which he was drafted; and such substitute shall 
be entitled to the same pay and allowances provided by law as if he 
had been originally drafted into the service of the United States. 

* * * 

Act of March 3^ 1863 {12 Stats. ^ 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and for the year 
ending the 30 [th] of June, 1863, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the surgeon and the citizen at large, who are, with the 
provost-marshal, to form the enrolling board of each Congressional 
district, shall receive the compensation of an assistant surgeon of the 
army, excluding commutation for fuel and quarters, for the time 
actually emploA^ed; . . . 

* * * 


Act of February 21^., 186If, {13 Stats. 6). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act for enrolling and calling out the national 
forces, and for other purposes,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-three. 

That the President of the United States shall be authorized, when¬ 
ever he shall deem it necessary, during the present war, to call for 
such number of men for the military service of the United States as 
the public exigencies may require. 

Sec. 2. That the quota of each ward of a city, town, township, pre¬ 
cinct, or election district, or of a county, where the county is not 
divided into wards, towns, townships, precincts, or election districts, 
shall be, as nearly as possible, in proportion to the number of men 
resident therein liable to render military service, taking into account, 
as far as practicable, the number which has been previously furnished 
therefrom; and in ascertaining and filling said quota there shall be 
taken into account the number of men who have heretofore entered 
the naval service of the United States, and whose names are borne 
upon the enrollment lists as already returned to the oflice of the 
provost-marshal of the United States. 

Sec. 3. That if the quotas shall not be filled within the time desig¬ 
nated by the President, the provost-marshal of the district within 
which any ward of a city, town, township, precinct, or election district, 
or county, where the same is not divided into wards, towns, townships, 
precincts, or election districts, which is deficient in its quota, is situ¬ 
ated, shall, under the direction of the Provost-Marshal-General, make 
a draft for the number deficient therefrom; but all volunteers who may 
enlist after the draft shall have been ordered, and before it shall be 
actually made, shall be deducted from the number ordered to be drafted 
in such ward, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county. 
And if the quota of any district shall not be filled by the draft made in 
accordance with the provisions of this act, and the act to which it is an 
amendment, further drafts shall be made, and like proceedings had, 
until the quota of such district shall be filled. 


provost-makshal-general’s bureau. 


671 


Sec. 4. That any person enrolled under the provisions of the act for 
enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes, 
approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, or who ma}^ 
be hereafter so enrolled, may furnish, at any time previous to the draft, 
an acceptable substitute, wto is not liable to draft, nor, at the time, in 
the niilitary or naval service of the United States; and such person so 
furnishing a substitute shall be exempt from draft during the time for 
which such substitute shall not be liable to draft, not exceeding the 
time for which such substitute shall have been accepted. 

Sec. 5. That any person drafted into the military service of the U nited 
States may, before the time fixed for his appearance for duty at the 
draft rendezvous, furnish an acceptable substitute, subject to such rules 
and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War; that 
if such substitute is not liable to draft, the person furnishing him shall 
be exempt from draft during the time for which such substitute is not 
liable to draft, not exceeding the term for which he was drafted; and if 
such substitute is liable to draft, the name of the person furnishing him 
shall again be placed on the roll, and shall be liable to draft on future 
calls, but not until the present enrollment shall be exhausted; and this 
exemption shall not exceed the term for which such person shall have 
been drafted. And any person now in the military or naval service of 
the United States, not physicall}^ disqualified, who has so served more 
than one year, and w^hose term of unexpired service shall not at the 
time of substitution exceed six months, may be employed as a substi¬ 
tute to serve in the troops of the State in w'hich he enlisted; and if any 
drafted person shall hereafter pay money for the procuration of a sub¬ 
stitute, under the provisions of the act to which this is an amendment, 
such payment of money shall operate only to relieve such person from 
draft in filling that quota; and his name shall be retained on the roll 
in filling future quotas; but in no instance shall the exemption of any 
person, on account of his payment of commutation money for the pro¬ 
curation of a substitute, extend beyond one year; but at the end of 
one year, in every such case, the name of any person so exempted 
shall be enrolled again, if not before returned to the enrollment list 
under the provisions of this section. 

Sec. 6. That boards of enrollment shall enroll all persons liable to 
draft under the provisions of this act, and the act to which this is an 
amendment, w hose names may have been omitted by the proper enroll¬ 
ing officers; all persons who shall arrive at the age of twenty years 
before the draft; all aliens wdio shall declare their intention to become 
citizens; all persons discharged from the military or naval service of 
the United States who have not been in such service two years during 
the present war; and all persons who have been exempted under the 
provisions of the second section of the act to which this is an amendment, 
but who are not exempted by the provisions of this act; and said boards 
of enrollment shall release and discharge from draft all persons who, 
between the time of the enrollment and the draft, shall have arrived 
at the age of forty-five years, and shall strike the names of such per¬ 
sons from the enrollment. 

Sec. 7. That anv mariner, or able or ordinary seaman, who shall be 
drafted under this'^act, or the act to which this is an amendment, shall 
have the right, within eight days after the notification of such draft, 
to enlist in the naval service as a seaman; and a certificate that he has 
so enlisted being made out, in conformity with regulations which may 


672 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


be prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy, and duly presented to the 
provost-marshal of the district in which such mariner, or able or ordi¬ 
nary seaman, shall have been drafted, shall exempt him from such draft: 
Provided^ That the period for which he shall have enlisted into the 
naval service shall not be less than the period for which he shall have 
been drafted into the military service: And provided further^ That the 
said certificate shall declare that satisfactory proof has been made 
before the naval officer issuing the same that the said person so enlist¬ 
ing in the Navy is a mariner by vocation, or an able or an ordinary 
seaman. And any person now in the military service of the United 
States who shall furnish satisfactory proof that he is a mariner by 
vocation, or an able or ordinary seaman, may enlist into the Navy under 
such rules and regulations as may be prescribed’ by the President of 
the United States: Provided^ That such enlistment shall not be for 
less than the unexpired term of his military service, nor for less than 
one year. And the bounty money which any mariner or seaman, 
enlisting from the Army into the Navy, may have received from the 
United States, or from the State in which he enlisted in the Army, 
shall be deducted from the prize money to which he may become 
entitled during the time required to complete his military service: 
And provided further^ That the whole number of such transfer enlist¬ 
ments shall not exceed ten thousand. 

Sec. 8. That whenever any such mariner or able or ordinary seaman 
shall have been exempted from such draft in the military service by such 
enlistment into the naval service, under such due certificate thereof, 
then the ward, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county, 
when the same is not divided into wards, towns, townships, precincts, 
or election districts, from which such person has been drafted shall be 
credited with his services to all intents and purposes as if he had been 
duly mustered into the military service under such draft. 

Sec. 9. That all enlistments into the naval service of the United 
States, or into the Marine Corps of the United States, that may here¬ 
after be made of persons liable to service under the act of Congress 
entitled “An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and 
for other purposes,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
three, shall be credited to the ward, town, township, precinct, or elec¬ 
tion district, or county, when the same is not divided into wards, towns, 
townships, precincts, or election districts, in which such enlisted men 
were or may be enrolled and liable to duty under the act aforesaid, 
under such regulations as the provost-marshal-general of the United 
States may prescribe. 

Sec. 10. That the following persons be, and they are hereby, exempted 
from enrollment and draft under the provisions of this act, and of the 
act to which this is an amendment, to wit: Such as are rejected as 
phj^sically or mentally unfit for the service, all persons actually in the 
military or naval service of the United States at the time of the draft, 
and all persons who have served in the military or naval service two 
years during the present war and been honorably discharged therefrom; 
and no persons but such as are herein exempted shall be exempt. 

Sec. 11. That section third of the “Act for enrolling and calling out 
the national forces, and for other purposes,” approved March third, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and so much of section ten of said 
act as provides for the separate enrollment of each class, be, and the 
same are hereby, repealed; and it shall be the duty of the board of 


PROVOST'MAESHAL-GENERAL’s bureau. 


673 


6niollEi6iit of Ccich. district to coiisolidiitc the two classes iiiciitioned in 
the third section of said act. 

Sec. 12. That any person who shall forcibly resist or oppose any 
enrollment, or who shall incite, counsel, or encourage, or who shall 
conspire or confederate with any other person or persons forcibly to 
resist or oppose any such enrollment, or who shall aid or assist or take 
any part in any forcible resistance or opposition thereto, or who shall 
assault, obstruct, hinder, impede, or threaten any officer or other per¬ 
son employed in making or in aiding to make such enrollment, or 
employed in the performance or in aiding in the performance of any 
service in any way relating thereto or in arresting or aiding to arrest 
any spy or deserter from the military service of the United States, 
shall, upon conviction thereof in any court competent to try the ofiense, 
be punished by a tine not exceeding live thousand dollars or b}^ impris¬ 
onment not exceeding five years, or by both of said punishments, in 
the discretion of the court. And in cases where such assaulting, 
obstructing, hindering, or impeding shall produce the death of such 
officer or other person^ the offender shall be deemed guilty of murder, 
and, upon conviction thereof upon indictment in the circuit court of 
the United States for the district within which the offense was com¬ 
mitted, shall be punished with death. And nothing in this section con¬ 
tained shall be construed to relieve the party offending from liability, 
under proper indictment or process, for any crime against the laws of 
a State committed by him while violating the provisions of this section. 

Sec. 13. That the Secretary of War shall be authorized to detail or 
appoint such number of additional surgeons for temporary duty in the 
examination of persons drafted into the military service in any dis¬ 
trict as may be necessary to secure the prompt examination of all 
such persons arid to fix the compensation to be paid surgeons so 
appointed while actually employed; and such surgeons so detailed or 
appointed shall perform the same duties as the surgeon of the board 
of enrollment, except that they shall not be permitted to vote or sit 
with the board of enrollment. 

Sec. 14. That the Secretary of War is authorized, whenever in his 
judgment the public interest will be subserved thereby, to permit or 
require boards of examination of enrolled or drafted men to hold their 
examinations at different points within their respective enrollment 
districts, to be determined b}^ him: Provided^ 44iat in all districts over 
one hundred miles in extent, and in such as are composed of over ten 
counties, the board shall hold their sessions in at least two places in 
such district, and at such points as are best calculated to accommodate 
the people thereof. 

Sec. 15. That provost-marshals, boards of enrollment, or any mem¬ 
ber thereof acting by authority of the board, shall have power to 
summon witnesses in behalf of the Government and enforce their 
attendance by attachment, without previous payment of fees, in any 
case pending before them, or either of them; and the fees allowed for 
witnesses attending under summons shall be six cents per mile for 
mileage, counting one way; and no other fees or costs shall be allowed 
under the provisions of this section; and they shall have power to 
administer oaths and affirmations. And any person who shall wilfully 
and corruptly sw^ear or affirm falsely before any provost-marshal or 
board of enrollment, or member thereof acting l)y authority of the 
board, or who shall before any civil magistrate wilfully and corruptly 

S. Doc. 229-43 


674 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OE GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


swear or affirm falsely to any affidavit to be used in any case pending 
})efore any provost-marshal or board of enrollment, shall on convic¬ 
tion be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, and imprisoned not 
less than six months nor more than twelve months. The drafted men 
shall have process to bring in witnesses, but without mileage. 

Sec. 16. That copies of any record of a provost-marshal or board of 
enrollment, or of any paid thereof, certified by the provost-marshal 
or a majority of said board of enrollment, shall be deemed and taken 
as evidence in any civil or military court in like manner as the original 
record: Provided^ That if any person shall knowing!}" certify any false 
copy or copies of such record, to be used in any civil or military court, 
he shall be subject to the pains and penalties of perjury. 

Sec. 17. That members of religious denominations, who shall by 
oath or affirmation declare that they are conscientiously opposed to the 
bearing of arms, and who are prohibited from doing so by the rules 
and articles of faith and practice of said religious denomination, shall, 
when drafted into the military service, be considered nonconlbatants, 
and shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the hospitals, 
or to the care of freed men, or shall ymy the sum of three hundred 
dollars to such person tis the Secretary of War shall designate to 
receive it, to be applied to the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers: 
Provided., That no person shall be entitled to the benefit of the pro¬ 
visions of this section unless his declaration of conscientious scruples 
against bearing anus shall be supported by satisfactory evidence that 
his deportment has been uniformly consistent with such declaration. 

8ec. 18. That no person of foreign birth shall, on account of alien¬ 
age, be exempted from enrollment or draft under the provisions of 
this act, or the act to which it is an amendment, who has at any time 
assumed the rights of a citizen by voting at any election held under 
authority of the laws of any State or Territory, or of the United States, 
or who has held any office under such laws, or any of them; but the 
fact that any such person of foreign birth has voted or held, or shall 
vote or hold office as aforesaid, shall be taken as conclusive evidence 
that he is not entitled to exemption from military service on account 
of alienage. 

Sec. 19. That all claims to exemption shall be verified by the oath 
or affirmation of the party claiming exemption to the truth of the facts 
stated, unless it shall satisfactorily appear to the board of enrollment 
that such party is, for some good and sufficient reason, unable to make 
such oath or affirmation; and the testimony of any other party filed 
in support of a claim to exemption shall also be made upon oath or 
affirmation. 

Sec. 20. That if any person drafted and liable to render military 
service shall procure a decision of the board of enrollment in his favor 
upon a claim to exemption by any fraud or false representation practised 
by himself or by his procurement, such decision or exemption shall be 
of no effect, and the person exempted, or in whose favor the decision 
may be made, shall be deemed a deserter, and may be arrested, tried by 
court-martial, and punished as such, and shall be held to service for 
the full term for which he was drafted, reckoning from the time of his 
arrest: Provided., That the Secretary of War may order the discharge 
of all personsin the military service who are under the age of eighteen 
years at the time of the application for their discharge when it shall 
appear upon due proof that such persons are in the service without the 


provost-makshal-genekal's rukeau. 


()75 

consent, either express or implied, of their parents or guardians: A?i(l 
jpiovidiHh juvther^ i hat such persons, their parents or j^’uardians, shall 
hrst repay to the Government and to the State and local authorities all 
bounties and advance pay which may have been paid to them,anythinir 
in the act to which this is an amendment to the contrary notwitiT 
standing. 

Sec. 21. lhat aiu" person who shall procure, or attempt to procure, 
a false report from the surgeoi;: of the board of enrollment concerning 
the physical condition of any drafted person, or a decision in favor of 
such person by the board of enrollment upon a claim to exemption, 
knowing the same to be false, shall, upon conviction in any district or 
circuit court of the United States, be punished by imprisonment for 
the period for which the party was drafted. 

Sec. 22. lhat the fees of agents and attoimeys tor making out and 
causing to be executed any papers in support of a claim for exemption 
from draft, or for any services that may b(‘, rendered to the claimant, 
shall not, in anv cuse, exceed live dollars; and ])hysicians or surgeons 
furnishing certiticates of disability to any claimant for exemption from 
draft shall not be entitled to any fees or compensation therefor. And 
any agent or attorney who shall, directly or indirectly, demand or 
receive any greater compensation for his services under this act, and 
ail}" physician or surgeon who shall, directly or indirectly, demand or 
receive any compensation for furnishing said certiticates of disability, 
and any officer, clerk, or deputy connected with the board of enrol 1- 
nient who shall receive compensation from any drafted man for any 
services, or obtaining the performance of such service required from any 
member of said board by the provisions of this act, shall be deemed 
guilty of a high misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall, for every 
such offense, be lined not exceeding live hundred dollars, to bo recov¬ 
ered upon information or indictment before any court of competent 
jurisdiction, one-half for the use of any informer, Avho may prosecute 
for the same in the name of the United States, and the other half for the 
use of the United States; and shall also be subject to imprisonment 
for a term not exceeding one year, at the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 23. That no member of the board of enrollment, and no sur¬ 
geon detailed or employed to assist the board of enrollment, and no 
clerk, assistant, or employee of any provost-nuirshal or board of 
enrollment, shall, directly or indirectl}", be engaged in procuring, or 
attempting to procure, substitutes for persons drafted, or liable to be 
drafted, into the military service of the United States. And if any 
member of a board of enrollment, or any such surgeon, clerk, assist¬ 
ant, or employee, shall procure, or attempt to procure, a substitute 
for any person drafted, or liable to be drafted, as aforesaid, he shall 
be deemed guilt}^ of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be 
punished by imprisonment not less than thirty days nor more than six 
months, and pay a ffne not less than one hundred nor more than one 
thousand dollars, by any court competent to try the offense. 

Sec. 2-1-. That all able-bodied male colored persons between the ages 
of twenty and forty-five years, resident in the United States, shall be 
enrolled according to the provisions of this act, and of the act to 
which this is an amendment, and form part of the national forces; and 
when a slave of a loyal master shall be drafted and mustered into the 
service of the United States his master shall have a certificate thereof; 
and thereupon such slave shall be free, and the bounty of one hun- 


67 6 LICGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

dred dollars now pa^^able by law for each drafted man shall be paid 
to the person to whom such drafted person was owing service or labor 
at the time of his muster into the service of the United States. The 
Secretary of War shall appoint a commission in each of the slave States 
represented in Congress, charged to award to each lo^^al person to 
whom a colored volunteer ma}^ owe service a just compensation, not 
exceeding three hundred dollars for each such colored volunteer, paya¬ 
ble out of the fund derived from commutations; and eveiy such colored 
volunteer on being mustered into the service shall be free. And in all 
cases where men of color have been heretofore enlisted, or have vol¬ 
unteered in the military service of the United States, all the provisions 
of this act, so far as the ym^’ment of bounty and compensation are pro- 
vid(^d, shall be equally applicable as to those who maybe hereafter re¬ 
cruited. But men of color, drafted or enlisted, or who ma}' volunteer 
into the military service, while they shall be credited on the quotas of 
the several States or subdivisions of States wherein they are respect¬ 
ively drafted, enlisted, or shall volunteer, shall not be assigned as State 
troops, but shall be mustered into regiments or companies as United 
States colored troops. 

Sec. 25. That the hfteenth section of the act to which this is amend- 
atoiy be so amended that it will read as follows: That any surgeon 
charged with the duty of such inspection who shall receive from aiy 
person whomsoever any money or other valuable thing, or agree, 
directly or indirectly, to receive the same to his own or another’s use, 
for making an imperfect inspection or a false or incorrect report, or 
who shall wilfully neglect to make a faithful inspection and true report, 
and each member of the board of enrollment who shall wilfullv agree 
to the discharge from service of any drafted person who is not legally 
and properly entitled to such discharge, shall be tried b}" a court- 
martial, and, on conviction thereof, be,punished b}" a fine not less than 
three hundred dollars and not more than ten thousand dollars, shall be 
imprisoned at the discretion of the court, and be cashiered and dis¬ 
missed the service. 

Sec. 26. That the words “precinct” and “ election district,” as used 
in this act, shall not be construed to require any subdivision for pur¬ 
poses of enrollment and draft less than the wards into which any city 
or village may be divided, or than the towns or townships into which 
any county may be divided. 

Sec. 27. That so much of the act entitled “An act for enrolling and 
calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,” approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, as maybe inconsistent 
with the provisions of this act is hereby repealed. 

Resolution of Feljvuary 186{13 Stats. ^ Jf02). 

A RESOLUTION relative to the transfer of persons in the military service to the 

naval service.^ 

First. That the provost-marshal-general be, and is here!)}', directed 
to enlist such persons as ma}^ desire to enter into the naval service of 
the United States, under such directions as may be given by the Sec¬ 
retary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, which enlistments shall 
be credited to the appropriate district: Provided, nevertheless. That inas- 


Rcpcaled by Act of Juno 3, 1864 




provost-marshal-genekal’s bureau. 


677 


nuich as persons enlisted in the naval service receive prize money, Iver¬ 
sons so enlisiing shall not Ive entitled to receive any bountv upon their 
enlistment. Second. That the President of tlie Lhiited States may, 
whenever in his judo-ment the public service requires, authorize and 
direct the transfer of persons who have been employed in sea service, 
and are uo^y enlisted in reoiments for land service, from such reo-inumts 
to the naval service, upon such terms and according’ to such rules and 
regulations as he may prescribe: Provided., nevtPhele^'^s. That the 
number of transfers from any company or regiment shall not be so 
great as to reduce such company or regiment below the minimum 
strength required by the regulations of the military service: And pro¬ 
vided further., That such sum as may have been paid to persons so 
transferred, as bounty for entering into the military service, shall be 
transferred from the recruiting fund of the naval service to the ci-edit 
of the proper approjvriation for the land service. 

* * -x- 


Act of April ISGJi. {Id Staffs.^ 

AN ACT to amend an a(*t for enrolling; and (‘ailing out the national fences ho an to 
iner('ast‘ tlie rank, pay, an<l emolnnients of tlie lirovost-inarshal-jjeneral. 

That the rank, ])ay, and (Muoluments of th(‘ ])rovost-niarshal-genei‘al, 
authorized by section live of said act, shall be those of a brigadier- 
oeneral. 

* x- x- 


Act of duly //., {IS Stats., 379). 

AN ACT further to regulate and i)rovide for the enrolling and calling out the national 

forces, and for other purposes. 

* * . -x- 

Sec. 2. That in case the quota, or any part thereof, of any town, 
township, ward of a city, ])recinct, or election district, or of any county 
not so subdivided, shall not bo tilled within the space of iifty days after 
such call, then the President shall immediately order a draft for one 
year to till such (juota, or any part thereof which may be until led; and 
in case of any such draft,, no payment of money shall be accepted or 
received by the (iovernment as commutation to release any enrolled 
or drafb'd man from personal obligation to perfoi’in military service. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be lawful for the executive of any of the States 
to send recruiting agents into any of the States declared to be in rebel¬ 
lion, excejvt the States of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana, to recruit 
volunteers under any call under the ])rovisions of this act, who shall be 
(‘redited to the State, and to the respective subdivisions thereof, which 
may procure the enlistment. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 6. That section three of an act entitled “An act to amend an 
act entitled an act for (uirolling and calling out the national forces, and 
for other ])urposes,” approved Febi'uary twenty-four, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty-four, be, and the same is hereby, amended, so as to 
authorize and direct district provost marshals, under the direction of 
the provost-marshal-general, to make a draft for one hundred per 


678 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

centum in addition to the number required to fill the quota of any 
district as provided by said section. 

Sec. 7. That instead of traveling pay, all drafted persons reporting 
at the place of rendezvous shall be allowed transportation from their 
places of residence; and persons discharged at the place of rendezvous 
shall be allowed transportation to their places of residence. 

Sec. 8. That all persons in the naval service of the United States, 
who have entered said service during the present rebellion, who have 
not been credited to the quota of any town, district, ward, or State, 
by reason of their being in said service and not enrolled prior to 
Februaiy twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, shall be 
enrolled and credited to the quotas of the town, ward, district, or 
State, in which they respectively reside, upon satisfactory proof of 
their residence made to the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 9. That if an}^ person duly drafted shall be absent from home 
in prosecution of his usual business, the provost marshal of the dis¬ 
trict shall cause him to be duly notified as soon as may be, and he 
shall not be deemed a deserter, nor liable as such, until notice has been 
given to him, and reasonable time allowed for him to return and report 
to the provost marshal of his district; but such absence shall not other¬ 
wise affect his liability under this act. 

Sec. 10. That nothing contained in this act shall be construed to 
alter or in any way affect the provisions of the seventeenth section of 
an act approved February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
four, entitled “An act to amend an act entitled an act for enrolling 
and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,” approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and six^-three. 

Sec. 11. That nothing contained in this act shall be construed to alter 
or change the provisions of existing laws relative to permitting persons 
liable to military service to furnish substitutes. 

Act of Jfarch 3, 1865 {13 Stats,, ltS7), 

AN ACT to amend the several acts heretofore passed to provide for the enrolling 
and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That where any revised enrollment in any Congressional 
or draft district has been obtained or made prior to any actual drawing 
of names from the enrollment lists, the quota of such district may be 
adjusted and apportioned to such revised enrollment, instead of being 
applied to or based upon the enrollment as it may have stood before 
the revision. 

Sec. 11. That hereafter all persons mustered into the military or 
naval service, whether as volunteers, substitutes, representatives, or 
otherwise, shall be credited to the State and to the ward, township, 
precinct, or other enrollment subdistrict where such persons belong 
by actual residence (if such persons have an actual residence within 
the United States), and where such persons were or shall be enrolled 
(if liable to enrollment); and it is hereby made the duty of the pro¬ 
vost-marshal-general to make such rules and give such instructions 
to the several provost marshals, boards of enrollment, and mustering 
officers as shall be necessary for the faithful enforcement of the pro¬ 
visions of this section, to the end that fair and just credit shall be given 


PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL’s BUREAU. 


679 


to every section of the country: Provided, That in any call for troops 
hereafter, no county, town, township, ward, precinct,or election dis¬ 
trict shall have credit except for men actually furnished on said call 
or the precedino- call by said county, town, township, ward, precinct, 
or election district, and mustered into the militar}’^ or naval service on 
the quota thereof. 

^ bEC. 15. that in computing quotas hereafter, credit shall be given 
to the several States, districts, and subdistricts for ail men furnished 
from them, respectively, and not heretofore credited, during the pres¬ 
ent rebellion, for any period of service of not less than three months, 
calculating the number of days for which such service was furnished, 
and reducing the same to years: Provided, That such credits shall not 
be applied to the call for additional troops made by the President on 
the twenty-tirst day of December, eighteen hundred and sixty-four. 

Sec. 16. That persons who have been, or may hereafter be, drafted, 
under the provisions of the several acts to which this is an amendment, 
for the term of one year, and who have actually furnished, or may 
actually furnish, acceptable substitutes (not liable to draft) for the 
term of three 3 "ears, shall be exempt from military duty during the 
time for which such substitutes shall not be liable to draft, not exceed¬ 
ing the time for which such substitutes shall have been mustered into 
the service, anything in the act of Februaiy twenty-fourth, eighteen 
hundred and sixt^^-four, to the contrary notwithstanding. 

* * * 

Sec. 19. That in every case where a substitute is furnished to take 
the place of an enrolled or drafted man, and it is shown by evidence 
that shall be satisfactory to the Secretary of War that such substitute 
was, at the time of his enlistment, known ly the part}^ furnishing him 
to be non compos mentis, or in a condition of intoxication, or under 
conviction or indictment for any offense of the grade of felony at the 
common law, or to have been guilt}^ of a previous act of desertion 
unsatisfied by pardon or punishment, or, by reason of any existing 
infirmity or ailment, physicallv incapable of performing the ordinary 
duties of a soldier in actual service in the ranks, or minor between the 
ages of sixteen and eighteen 3 ^ears, without the consent of his parent 
or guardian, or a minor under the age of sixteen ^^ears, it shall be the 
duty of the Provost-Marshal-General, on advice of the fact, to report 
the same to the provost-marshal of the proper district; and if such per¬ 
son so enlisted and incapable shall have been, since the passage of this 
act, mustered into the service as a substitute for a person liable to 
draft and not actuall drafted, the name of the person so liable who 
furnished such substitute shall be again placed on the list, and he shall 
f)e subject to draft thereafter as though no such substitute had been 
furnished by him; and if such substitute so enlisted and incapable as 
aforesaid shall have been, since the passage of this act, mustered into 
the service as a substitute for a person actually" drafted, then it shall 
be the duty of the Provost-Marshal-General to direct the provost- 
marshal of "the district immediately to notify the person who furnished 
such substitute that he is held to service in the place of such substitute, 
and he shall stand in the same relation and be subject to the same lia¬ 
bility as before the furnishing of such substitute. 

Sec. 20. That in case any substitute shall desert from the army, and 
it shall app(‘ar by evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of War that 
the party furnishing such substitute shall have, in any way, directly 


680 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


or indirectly, aided or abetted such desertion, or to have been privy 
to any intention on the part of such substitute to desert, then such 
person shall be immediately placed in the army, and shall serve for the 
period for which he was liable to draft, such service to commence at 
the date of the desertion of the substitute. 

* * * 

Sec. [22.] That the third section of the act entitled “An act [further] 
to regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national 
forces, and for other purposes,” approved July fourth, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty-four, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. [23.] That any person or persons enrolled in any subdistrict 
may, after notice of a draft, and before the same shall have taken place, 
cause to be mustered into the service of the United States such number 
of recruits, not subject to draft, as they may deem expedient, which 
recruits shall stand to the credit of the persons thus causing them to 
be mustered in, and shall be taken as substitutes for such persons, or 
so many of them as may be drafted, to the extent of the number of 
such recruits, and in the order designated by the principals at the time 
such recruits are thus as aforesaid mustered in. 

* * * 

Sec. [26.] That acting assistant surgeons, contract surgeons, and 
surgeons and commissioners on the enrolling boards, while in the mili¬ 
tary service of the United States, shall hereafter be exempt from all 
liability to be drafted under the provisions of any act for enrolling and 
calling out the national forces. 

Sec. [27.] That this act shall take etfect from and after its passage: 
Provided^ That nothing herein contained shall operate to postpone the 
pending draft, or interfere with the quotas assigned therefor, 

Act of July 28^ 1866 {IJf, Stats. ^ 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 33. That the Provost-Marshal-General’s Office and Bureau 
shall be continued onlj^ so long as the Secretary of War shall deem 
necessary, not exceeding thirty days after the passage of this act. 

* * * 

July 28, 1866.—By General Orders, No. 66, A. G. O., August 20, 1866, this Bureau 
was ordered discontinued August 28, the business of the Bureau to be thereafter con¬ 
ducted through the Adjutant-General of the Army. 


Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats., 566). 


AN ACT to revise, consolidate, and amend the laws relating to pensions. 

That if . . . any provost-marshal, deputy provost-marshal, or 

enrolling officer, disabled by reason of any wound or injury received 
in the discharge of his duty to procure a subsistence by manual labor, 
has been ... or shall hereafter be impaired by reason of such 
disability, he shall, upon making due proof of the fact, ... be 

placeduponthelistof invalid pensioners of the United States^ . . . 
* * * 


1 This provision is embodied in section 4693 of the Revised Statutes. 




^DDEISTD^. 


Provisions selected while this work was going through the press, but too 
late for insertion in their appropriate places. 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 16^ 1802 (2 Stats., 132). 

AN ACT fixing the military establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive, for their daily subsistence, the following number of rations 
of provisions: a colonel, six rations; a lieutenant-colonel, live rations; 
a major, four rations; a captain, three rations; a lieutenant, two 

rations; ... or money in lieu thereof at the option of the said 

officers ... at the posts respectively where the rations shall 
become due; . . . 

* * * 

Act of July 6, 1812 {2 Stats., 784). 

AN ACT making further provision for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 


* * * 

Sec. 4. That the President is hereby authorized to confer brevet 
rank on such officers of the Army as shall distinguish themselves by 
gallant actions or meritorious conduct, or who shall have served ten 
years in any one grade. 

* * * 

Marchs, 1845 {6-732 ).—Franking privilege abolished; accounts for official postage 
to be paid from contingent fund of the bureau to which the officer belongs. By 
Joint Resolution No. 13, of same date (5-800), this act was declared to take effect 
July 1, 1845, and not sooner. 

Act of March 3, 1863 {12 Stats., 731). 

AN ACT for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes. 
* * * 

Sec. 31. That any officer absent from duty with leave, except for 
sickness or wounds^ shall, during his absence, receive half of the pay 
and allowances prescribed by law, and no more. . . . 


681 



682 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Act of June W, 186^ (13 Stats., UJ). 


AN ACT to increase the pay of soldiers in the United States Army, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the thirty-first section of an act entitled “An act for 
enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,” 
approved IVlarch third, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, be, 
and the same is hereby, so amended as that an officer may have, . . . 

leave of absence for other cause than sickness or wounds without deduc¬ 
tion from his pay or allowances: Provided, That the aggregate of such 
absence shall not exceed thirty days in any one year. 

* * 


Act of July <28,1866 (U Stats., 232). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

-X- -X- -x- 

Sec. 31. That all officers who have served during the rebellion as 
volunteers in the armies of the United States, and who have been or 
may hereafter be honorably mustered out of the volunteer service, 
shall be entitled to bear the official title, and upon occasions of cere¬ 
mony to wear the uniform of the highest grade they have held by brevet 
or other commissions in the volunteer service. In case of officers of 
the Regular Army the volunteer rank shall be entered upon the official 
army register: Provided, That these privileges shall not entitle any 
officer to command, pay, or emoluments. 

* * * 

March 2, 1867 {14-434 )-—The act of June 20, 1864(13-144), increasing the pay of 
enlisted men, not to be construed as to increase the emoluments of the commissioned 
officers at the date of its passage. The first section of the act of March 3,1865 (13-487), 
relative to officers’ servants, not intended to be retrospective or retroactive in its 
operation. 


Act of July 11, 1868 (16 Stats., 85.) 

AN ACT prescribing an oath of office to be taken by persons from whom legal disa¬ 
bilities shall have been removed. 

That whenever aii}^ person who has participated in the late rebellion 
. . . has been or shall be . . . appointed to any office or place 

of trust in or under the Government of the United States, he shall, 
before entering upon the duties thereof, instead of the oath prescribed 
by the act of July two, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, take and sub¬ 
scribe the following oath or affirmation: 

I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend 
the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and 
domestic^ that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that 
1 take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or pur¬ 
pose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties 
of the office on which 1 am about to enter. So help me God. 


ADDENDA. 


683 


Act of May 8, 187Ji, {18 Stats,, 48). 


AN act to amend the thirty-first section of an act entitled “An act for enrolling 
and calling out the national militia, and for other purposes,” approved March 
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. » m 


That all officers on duty at any point west of a line drawn north and 
south through Omaha cit}^, and north of a line drawn east and west 
upon the southern boundary of Arizona, shall be allowed sixty days’ 
absence without deduction of pay or allowances: Provided., 
ihat the same is taken but once in two years: And provided further. 
That the leave of absence may be extended to three months, if taken 
once only in three years; or four months if taken once only in four 
years. 


Act of My 29, 1876 {19 Stats., 102). 


AN ACT to amend an act approved May eight, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, 
in regard to leave of absence of Army officers. 

Beit enacted hy tJw Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of Aineidca in Congress assembled. That an act approved May 
eight, eighteen hundred aiid seventy-four, in regard tc leave of absence 
of Army officers, be, and the same is hereby^ so amended that all officers 
on duty shall be allowed, in the discretion of the Secretary of War, 
sixty days’leave of absence without deduction of payor allowance: 
Pravided, That the same be taken once in two years: And provided 
further. That the leave of absence may be extended to three months, 
if taken once only in three years, or four months if taken once only in 
four years. 

This act shall take effect from and after its passage. 

REVISED STATUTES, 2D EDITION, 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1205. Line officers may be transferred to the staff without prejudice to their 
rank or promotion in the line; when they become entitled to a regimental grade 
equal to that they hold in the staff, they must vacate either commission. 

* * * 

Sec. 1209. The President may confer brevet commissions for distinguished conduct 
and public service in i)resence of the enemy. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1218. No person who has served in any capacity in the military, 
naval, or civil service of the so-called Confederate States, or of either 
of the States in insurrection during the late rebellion, shall be appointed 
to any position in the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 1226. All officers who have served during the rebellion as vol¬ 
unteers in the Army^ of the United States, and have been honorably 
mustered out of the volunteer service, shall be entitled to bear the 
official title, and upon occasions of ceremony to wear the uniform of 
the highest grade they have held, by^ brevet or other commissions, in 
the volunteer service. The highest volunteer rank which has been 
held by officers of the Regular Army shall be entered, with their names 
respectively, upon the Army Register. . . . 


684 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


Sec. 1756. Every person . . . appointed to any office of honor 

or profit . . . in the . . . military . . . service . . . 

shall, before entering upon the duties of such office, and before being 
entitled to any part of the salary or other emoluments thereof, take 
and subscribe the following oath: “I, A B, do solemnly swear (or 
affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United 
States since 1 have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntaril}^ 
given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons 
engaged in armed hostilit}^ thereto; that I have neither sought, nor 
-accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office what¬ 
ever, under any authority or pretended authoriU, in hostility to the 
United States; that 1 have not yielded a voluntary support to any pre¬ 
tended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United 
States hostile or inimical thereto, and I further swear (or affirm) that, 
to the best of my knowledge and ability, 1 will support and defend the 
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and 
domestic; that I will bear true faith and' allegiance to the same; that 
I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or pur¬ 
pose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties 
of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.” 

Sec. 1757. Whenever any person who ... is not able, on 
account of his participation in the late rebellion, to take the oath pre¬ 
scribed in the preceding section, he shall, before entering upon the 
duties of his office, take and subscribe in lieu of that oath the following 
oath: ‘‘I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and 
defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, for¬ 
eign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the 
same; that I take this obligation freely, without an}^ mental reservation 
or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the 
duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.” 

* * * 

Sec. 1860. 

* * -X- 

Fourth. No person belonging to the Army . . . shall be elected 

to or hold any civil office or appointment in any Territory. 

* * " * ‘ 

Sec. 3683. No part of the contingent fund appropriated to any bureau to be 
applied to the purchase of any articles except such as the head of the Department 
shall, in writing, direct to be procured. 

* -X- * 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of June 23, 1879 {21 Stats., 30). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That no allowance shall be made for claims for 

quarters for servants heretofore or hereafter; and that the rate of 
commutation shall hereafter be twelve dollars per room per month 
for officers’ quarters, in lieu of ten dollars, as now provided by law. 

* * * ■ 

. . . Provided, That to the cost of all stores and other articles 

sold to officers and men, except tobacco, as provided for in section one 


ADDENDA. 


GHf) 

tlioiisiind one hundrod iind fort^^-nine of the UeviHod Statutes, ten per 
c(‘ntiini shall bo added to cover wastage, transportation, and other 
incidental charo-es. 

Ac^ of ATarch S, 1883 {^3 JfS). 

AN ACT makin^^ appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end¬ 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . From and after the passage of this act, mileage to offi¬ 

cers of the Army shall be computed over the shortest usually traveled 
routes between the points named in the order, and the necessity for 
such travel in the military service shall be certified to by the officer 
issuing the ordei’, and stated in said order. 

* -X- 

Act of Ala rch 3, 1883 Stats., 567). 

AN ACT to amend section eighteen hundred and sixty of the Kevised Statutes so as 
not to exclude retired Army officers from hoMing civil office in the Territories. 

That the fourth clause of section eighteen hundred and sixty of the 
Kevised Statutes of the United States be, and the same is hereby, 
amended so as to read as follows: 

“Fourth. No person belonging to the Army . . . shall be 

elected to or hold any civil office or appointment in any Territory, 
except officers of the Army on the retired list.” 

Act of Aray 13, 188If. {23 Stats., 21). 

AN ACT amending the Revised Statutes of the United States in respect of official 
oaths, and for other purposes. 

That section twelve hundred and eighteen of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows: 

“Sec. 1218. No person who held a commission in the Army or Navy 
of the United States at the beginning of the late rebellion, and after¬ 
wards served in any capacity in the militaiy, naval, or civil service of 
the so-called Confederate States, or of either of the States in insurrec¬ 
tion during the late rebellion, shall be appointed to any position in the 
Army ... of the United States.” 

Sec. 2. That section seventeen hundred and tifty-six of the Revised 
Statutes lie, and the same is hereby, repealed; anil hereafter the oath 
to be taken by any person . . . appointed to any office of honor 
or profit . . . in the . . . military . . . service, except 
the President of the United States, shall be as prescribed in section 
seventeen hundred and tifty-seven of the Revised Statutes. . 

* * * 

Act of Fehrnary If, 1897 {29 Stats., 511). 

AN ACT to authorize officers who served during the war of tiie reiiellion in the 
Regular Army to hear the title and, on occasions of (ceremony, wear the uniform 
of their liighest rank. 

That all officers who have served during the rebellion as officers of 
the Regular Army of the Lbiited States, and have been honorably dis¬ 
charged or resigned from the service, shall be entitled to bear the offi¬ 
cial title and, upon occasions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the 


68() LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U S. ARMY. 


highest gmcle they hav^e held, ))y brevet or other commission, as is now 
authorized for officers of volunteers by section twelve hundred and 
twenty-six, Revised Statutes. 

The. text on imge 45 of the History of the General Staff, under the title 

Act of Afay 28, 1898 {SO Stats., Jf2T), 

is that of the 

Act of June 20, 1898 {30 Stats., 525). 

AN ACT to amend section ten of an act approved April twenty-second, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-eight, entitled ‘‘An act to provide for temporarily increasing 
the military establishment of the United States in time of war, and for other 
purposes.” 

The first section of the act of May 28, is as folloics: 

That section ten of an act of Congress, entitled ‘"An act to })rovide 
for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United 
States in time of war, and for other purposes,” approved April 
twenty-second, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, be, and the same 
is hereby, amended by adding at the end thereof the following, to wit: 
And 'provided. That officers of the Regular Army shall l)e eligible for 
such staff appointments, and shall not be held to vacate their offices in 
the Regular Army by accepting the same, but shall be entitled to 
receive only the pay and allowances of their staff rank: . 

* * -X- 


THE (JUARTERMASTER’S DEPARTMENT. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Junes, 1862 {12-411 ).—Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to 
make contracts with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

March 2', 1867 {14-571 ).—Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred jwior to March 1, 1861. 

REVISED STATUTES, 2D EDITION, 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any articles of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage to be charged 
against the officer responsible, unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

* * * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in pavment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

* X- -X- 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers aj)pointed by him to make contracts, 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

-x- * * 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

May 25, 1900 {31 -).—Authorizes replacement of quartermaster supplies which 

the volunteers from a State or Territory carried into the service of the United States 
Army during the recent war with Spain, and which have been retained by the 
United States. 



ADDENDA. 


G87 


THE SUBSISTENCE DEPABTMENT. 

JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

September 27, 1775. 

Resolved, That the expense of kettles, canteens, and spoons, siii)plied to tlie soldiers, 
be char^(‘d to the continent. 


STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Meiy IS, 1826 {4-173).—In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or 
of damage to such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage 
to be charged against the responsible officer, unless he can show that the deficiency 
or damage was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

June 2, 1862 (iMii).—Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to 
make contracts with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

March 3, 1865 {13-495 ).—Commissaries may sell rations on credit to officers in the 
field, reporting monthly to the raymaster-General the amounts due for such pur¬ 
chases. 

March 2, 1867 {14-571). —Forbids payment of accounfs, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 18, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

REVISED STATUTES, 2D EDITION, 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1145. Commissaries may sell rations on credit to officers in the field, report¬ 
ing monthly to the Paymaster-General the amounts due for such purchases. 

* * * 

Sec. 1277. One ration in kind or by commutation allowed to hospital matrons and 
female nurses. 

* * * 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the (lamage to be charged 
against the officer responsible, unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

* * * 

Sec. 2110. Governs issue of rations to Indiaixs who may visit the military posts or 
agencies of the United States on the frontiers or in their respective nations. 

* * * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to make contracfs 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns, 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

* * * 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

March 3, 1881 {21-435). —All the old clothing now held for issue to the National 
Home to be turned over to the managers of the National Home for Disabled Volun¬ 
teer Soldiers. 

April 23, 1901.— ... 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, March 26, 1901. 

In accordance with the provisions of section 40‘of the act entitled “An act to 
increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the United 
States,” approved February 2, 1901, which authorizes the President to “prescribe 
the kind and quantifies of the component articles of the army ration, and to direct 
the issue of substitutive equivalent articles in place of any such components when¬ 
ever in his opinion, economy and a due regani to the health and comfort of the 
troops may so require,” the following is promulgated for the information and guid¬ 
ance of all concerned. . , xu u 

The kinds and quantities of articles composing the army ration and the substi- 


()88 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


tutive equivalent articles which may be issued in place of such components shall be 
as follows: 

1. For troops in garrison {garrison ration). 


Standard articles. 


Kinds. 


Quantities. 


Meat components 


Bread components 


V’egetable components®. 


Fresh beef. 

Flour. 

Beans . 


Potatoes. 


Dried (or evaporated) 
fruit components.8 

Coffee and sugar com¬ 
ponents. 

Seasoning components.. 


Soap and candle com¬ 
ponents. 


Prunes 


Coffee, green . 

Sugar. 

(Vinegar. 

Salt. 

iPepper, black. 

/Soap. 

1 Candles 9. 


20 ounces. 


18 ounces. 


2f ounces. 


16 f)unccs... 


If ounces 

If ounces 
3^ ounces 

ounce, 
ounce, 
ounce. 
5% ounce. 


Substitutive articles. 


Kinds. 

Quantities. 

Fresh mutton 1. 

20 ounces. 

Bacon. 

12 ounces. 2 

Canned meat 3. 

16 ounces. 

Dried fish. 

14 ounces. 

Pickled fish. 

18 ounces. 

Canned fish.,. 

16 ounces. 

Soft bread. 

18 ounces. 

Hard breads. 

16 ounces. 

Corn meal. 

20 ounces. 

Pease . 

2f ounces. 

Rice. 

If ounces. 

Hominy. 

f ounces. 

Potatoes . 

12| ounces. 
.3f ounces. 

Onions. 

Potatoes. 

12f ounces. 
3f ounces. 

Canned tomatoes. 

Potatoes . 

Ilf oun(!es. 

Fresh vegetables, not 
canned.® 

Desiccated vegetables 1. 

4f ounces. 

2f ounces. 

Apples. 

If ounces. 

Peaches. 

If ounces. 

Roasted and ground. 

I25 ounces. 
25 ounce. 

Tea, black or^green. 


Vinegar. 

3*5 gill. 
2ffgill. 

Cucumber pickles. 


1 When the cost does not exceed that of fresh beef. 

2 In Ala.ska 16 ounces of bacon, or, when desired, 16 ounces of salt pork or 22 ounces salt beef. 

3 When impracticable to furnish fresh meat. 

4To be ordered Issued only when impracticable to use flour or soft bread. 

^In Alaska the allowance oi fresh vegetables will be 24 ounces instead of 16 ounces. 

6 When they can be obtained in the vicinity or transported in a wholesome condition from a distance. 

7 When impracticable to furnish/res/i. vegetables. In Alaska 3f ounces instead of 2f ounces. 

8Thirty per cent of the issue to be prunes when practicable. 

9When illumination is not furnished by the Quartermaster’s Department. In Alaska A ounce 
instead of 5^5 ounce. 


2. For troops in the field in active campaign {-field ration). 


Meat components . 
Bread components 


Vegetable components.. 


Fruit component. 

Coffee and sugar com¬ 


ponents. 

Seasoning components.. 

Soap and candle com¬ 
ponents. 


Standard articles. 


Kinds. 


Fresh beef^. 

20 ounces. 

Flour. 

18 ounces 

Baking powder < 
(Beans . 

If ounce. 

2f ounces.... 

Potatoes^. 

16 ounces_■ 

If ounces. 

1>^ ounces.... 

Jam. 

Coffee, roasted 


[Sugar.. 

(Vinegar.. 

Salt.. 

iPepper, black.., 

fSoap.. 

\Candles.. 


Quantities. 


3^ ounces. 
55 gill. 

ounce. 
5V ounce. 
If ounce. 
2% ounce. 


Substitutive articles. 


Kinds. 


{ Fresh muttons. 

Canned meat 3. 

Bacon . 

/Soft bread. 

(Hard bread. 

(Hops8 . 

(Dried or compressed yeast® 

Rice. 

/Potatoes 8. 

(Onions®. 

Desiccated potatoes. 

/Desiccated potatoes. 

(Desiccated onions. 

/Desiccated potatoes. 

(Canned tomatoes. 

Tea, black or green. 

(Cucumber pickles.!. *. 


Quantities. 


20 ounces. 
16 ounces, 
12 ounces. 
18 ounces. 
16 ounces. 
Bff ounce. 
2V ounce. 
If ounces. 
12| ounces 
3f ounces. 
2f ounces. 
Iff ounces 
ll ounce. 
Iff ounces 
3f ounces. 

25 ounce. 


gill. 
5V gill. 


1 2 3 7 8 9 When procurable locally. 3 when fresh meat can not be procured locally 

4 5 6 When ovens are not available. 

















































































































ADDENDA. 


()89 


1 


For troops when traveling otherwise tluni In/ marehing, or when for short periods they are 
separated from cooking facilities {travel ration). 


Standard articles. 


Substitute article.s. 


Kinds. 

Quantities 


Quantities 

per 100 
rations. 

Kinds. 

per 100 
rations. 

Soft bread. 

112^ pounds. 
75 pounds. 

25 i)Ounds. 

50 pounds 

8 pounds. 

15 pounds. 

Hurd bread 

100 pounds. 
75 pounds. 

Canned corned beef. 

Cunied-beef bash 

Baked beans. 

Canned tomatoes. 

Coffee, roasted and ground. 

Sugar. 



4- For troops f ravelhig on vessels of the United States Army transport service. 

Food on transports for troops traveling will be prepared from the articles of sub¬ 
sistence stores which compose the ration for troops in garrison, varied by the substi¬ 
tution of other articles of authorized subsistence stores of equal money value when 
required. No savings will be allowed to troops on transports. 

3. For use of troops on emergent occasions in active campaign {emergency ration). 

An emergency ration, prepared under direction of the AVar Department, will be 
issued to troops on active campaign, but will not be used at any time or place where 
regular rations are obtainable. It will be packed in a conveniently shaped package, 
and will be carried in the haversack or saddlebags and accounted for at inspection, 
etc., by the soldier. 


6. Proportions of meat issues. 

Fresh meats will ordinarily be issued seven days in ten and salt meats three days 
in ten. If fish (dried, pickled, or canned) is issued, it will be in substitution of salt 
n>eat. The proportions of the meat issues may be varied at the discretion of depart¬ 
ment commanders, not, however, without due consideration being given to the equita¬ 
ble rights of contractors engaged in furnishing fresh meats to the troops under their 
commands. 

7. Substitute when the issue of both fresh meat and vegetables is impracticable. 

Whenever the issue of both the fresh meat and vegetable components is impracti¬ 
cable, there may be issued in lieu of them canned fresh-beef-and-vegetable stew, at 
the rate of 28i ounces to the ration. 

William McKinley. 

{General Orders, No. 36, A. G. 0.) 


THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

March 16, 1802 {2-132). —This act allows one ration each to such matrons and 
nurses as may be necessarily employed in hospitals. 

April 24, 1816 {3-297). —Under this act garrison surgeons and mates were to be 
considered thereafter as post surgeons. 

May 18, 1826 {4-173).—In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or 
of damage to such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of damage to 
be charged against the responsible officer, unless he can show that the deficiency or 
damage was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

S. Doc. 229-44 





























690 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 


THE ORDNANCE DEPART3IENT. 

JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

October 16, 1776. 

Resolved, That it be earnestly recommended to all persons who are possessed of 
the salt petre lately removed from Turtle Bay, on the island of New York, forth¬ 
with to send the same to the president of the convention of New York, to be man¬ 
ufactured into gunpowder, for the use of the Continental Army. 

October 17, 1775. 

Ordered, that the President write to the convention of New York and inform them 
that it is the desire of the Congress that the sulphur in that city be immediately 
removed to a place of safety. 


October 25, 1775. 

Information l)eing given to Congress that there has been lately discovered, in the 
colony of Virginia, a mineral containing a large quantity of saltpetre. 

Ordered, That the delegates of Virginia send an express to enquire into the truth 
of the fact, and to bring a sample of the mineral. 

* * * 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several provincial assemblies, conven¬ 
tions, or councils of safety, of the United Colonies, to export to the foreign West 
Indies, on account and risk of their respective colonies, as much provisions or other 
produce, except horned cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry, as they may deem neces¬ 
sary for the importation of arms, ammunition, sulphur, and saltpetre." 

THE SIGNAL CORPS. 

Act of June 30, 1882 (22 StciR^., 117). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 
ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That the allowance for commutation of quarters 

. . . for officers and enlisted men of the Signal Service serving in 

the Arctic regions, [shall be] the same in amount as though they were 
serving in Washington, District of Columbia: . . . 

* * * 


I If D EX. 


A. 

Abandoned lands. Page. 

use of, for refugees and freedmen. 056 

Abert, Jo.un, 

mentioned. 434 

Abstracts, 

of subsistence, when to be sent. 325 

Abuses, 

committee to inquire into, in the Medical Department. 368 

respecting correction of, in Department of Military Stores. 564 

Academy {see Military Academy). 

Accounts, 

manner of keeping, how regulated. 20 

of subsistence, by whom signed. 1 .. 22,325 

weekly, to be sent to Congress. 144, 246 

of funds receiued and expended, how made... 158, 200, 336, 408,449, 462,551,578 

of quotas of provisions from States, how settled. 166 

respecting, of officers of the (Quartermaster’s Department. 175,188 

of contractors. 191, 309 

form of, regulated.. 199, 336 

in supply dejiartments to be made quarterly. 200 , 336 

of purchases and issues, how settled. 257 

for provisions and fuel, how made. 290 

respecting settlement of hospital. 377,379,391,396 

of officers of the Hospital and iMedical Departments. 394, 397, 408 

yearly, of apothecary to he settled within six months. 399 


manner of keeping regimental paymasters’, regulated by the Secretary of 

War. 455 

Paymaster-General to settle and adjust all. 456 

(see Paymasters; Commissary of army accounts.) 

of ordnance and ordnance stores. 553,578 

respecting, of prisoners of war. 643, 644 

for official postage. 681 

payment of, in favor of disloyal persons forbidden. 54, 686, 687 

Accouterments Leather; Deerskins), 

may be issued to detachments of seamen or marines. 202 

{see Sappers and miners.) 

to be stamped “United States”. 546 

neglect to deliver continental, punishable. 546 

States to appoint persons to manufacture. 553, 554 

superintendent of military, appointed. 554 

how' obtained. 568 

returns of, to be made. 569 

Acts of Congress, 


construed. 342, 413, 473, 474, 504,586, 682 

suspended. 428 

repealed in part. 74, 

78, 194, 203, 206, 209, 232, 331, 343, 344, 356,403, 413, 414, 415, 


466, 473, 502, 507,511,512,519,575,583, 588, 589,590,595, 625 

repealed. 75,102, 111, 129,197,199, 201, 208, 209, 

335, 344, 350, 410, 415, 468, 469, 474, 498, 508, 578, 581,583,590 

691 









































692 INDEX. 

Adams,-, 

to superintend the hospitals in Pennsylvania and Jersey. 381 

Adams, John, 

member of committee. 87, 239, 364, 536 

mentioned. 121, 393 

AdAxMS, Samuel, 

member of committee. 87, 488, 535 

Adams, Samuel, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

Adjutant and inspector {see Rank; Pay; Rations), 

authorized. 69,107 

Adjutant and Inspector General {see Rank; Pay; Rations), . 

authorized. 72,109 

to principal army to act as chief of staff. 72,109 

letters to and from the, free of postage. 72,109 

provisionally retained. 72,110 

Adjutant-GeneL^l {see Uniform; Rank; Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage 
wagons). 


appointed. 53, 55, 58, 59, 64 

appointment of, announced to the Army.53, 55 

details of. 56, 57, 61, 62 

arms in store deliverable on order of the. 54,143, 540 

to make monthly returns to Congress.56, 57 

certain regimental returns to the, discontinued. 58 

when appointed from the line. 60 

to be assistant inspector-general. 62, 69 

{see Allowances.) 

inspectors to act as... 60, 63, 90, 96 

to receive journals of Congress.. 63 

how appointed. 64, 77, 78 

{see Half-pay. ) 

letters and packages to and from the, free of postage. 71, 72 

provisionally retained. 72 

franking privilege granted to the. 73 

to be a commissioner of the Soldiers’ Home. 75, 78, 79 

to notify State authorities of details for ambulance duty. 76 

charged with certain duties relative to colored soldiers. 78 

mentioned. 68,73,74 

deputy, authorized. 53,55, 57, 58,59, 62, 71 


to make monthly reports and returns. 55 

how appointed. 64 

to appoint an assistant. 65 

assistant, appointed. 56, 61, 64 

authorized. 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 

how appointed. 64,69 

to act as assistant inspector-general. 78 

mentioned. 69 

{see Vacancies. ) 

Adjutant-General’s Department, 


increased. 73, 74, 76, 77, 80 

reduced. 74, 79 

reduction of, repealed. 74 

no new appointments or promotions in the. 77 

{see Vacancies; Army Corps; Divisions; Brigades.) 

Adj utant-General’s Office, 

respecting purchase of books, etc., for the. 80 

Advertisement, 

for proposals for quartermaster supplies. 214, 217, 225 

ordnance and ordnance stores may be purchased without.’ 604 

Affidavits, 

to insure uniformity Secretary of War to furnish blank forms of. 419, 

432, 509, 517, 590,599, 686, 687 

Agents {see Military agents; Clothier-general), 

to be sent into each State to purchase goods. 147,151 

purchasing, to obtain list of prices allowed. 152^ 375 





















































INDEX. 


693 


Agents—C ontinued. Page. 

authorized for the Quartermaster’s Department. 155 

purchase of forage. 155 

in each colony to superintend the making of saltpeter. 537,538 

vState to superintend manufacture of hints. 541 

superintendent of finance may suspend or remove. 181 

, appoint, fori)urchaseof supplies. 183, 296, 394,564 

to take the oath of fidelity....f.. 261 

States to appoint, for sale of clothing to the troops. 275 

to impress clothing. 275 

stock and })rovisions. 276 

for the purchase of flour. 278 

^ . ii^eat.280 

to be sent into each State to purchase medicines. 370 

in Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. 657,659 

Agriculture, 

observations and signals for the benefit of. 614, 616 

Aids-de-camp, 

to he taken from the line; to perform duties of assistant adjutant-general.. 73 

authorized for the Inspector-General. 87, 96,105,106 

Alaska {nee Leave of absence) , 

pay of officers serving in, increased 10 per cent. 47 

Albany, N. Y., 

hosjutal in, mentioned. 381,382 

deputy paymaster-general at, appointed. 453 

Alden, Roger, 

appointed brigade-major. 58 

mentioned. 60 

Alexander,-, 

appointed brigade-major. 61 

Alexander, William {see Stirling, Lord). 

Allen, Andrew, 

member of committee. 538 

mentioned. 243 

Allowances {see Mileage; Traveling allowances; Commutation), 

to officers regulated. 20,184 

of the line detailed in the Inspector-General’s Department. 143 

Quarterma.«ter-General reduced. 184 

contractors for military supplies. 191 

purchasing commissaries. 281, 282, 283 

deputy paymasters. 456 

surveyor of ordnance. 558,562 

Alsop, John, 

member of committee. 240, 241, 537 

mentioned. 142 

Alvokd, Benjamin, 

mentioned. 443 

Ambulances, 

under control of medical director of army corps. 420 

allowance of. 421 

to be used only for the sick and wounded. 422 

Ambulance corps {see Details), 

how organized. 420 

uniformed. 422 

A.mmunition {see Labor.-vtory), 

willful damage to, how punished. 177,308, 383,561 

committee to obtain. 535, 537,539 

captured, how disposed of. 541 

care of, turned over to board of war. 543 

Pennsvlvania and the States south to lay up. 544 

in ar.(l near Philadelphia put under General Putnam’s control. ^ 545 

magazi’^'es of, to be established. 545,580 

issue of, to the Southern Army. 563 

how obtained. 

returns of, to be made to Congress.069 

]Hirchase of.-. 

respecting tests of improvements in. 593 





















































694 


INDEX. 


Ammunition —Continued. 

purchased abroad admitted free of duty. 604 

may be issued to emigrants to certain Territories. 086 

purchased without advertisement. 604 

Ammunition wagons, 

provided for each regiment. 559 

Anderson, Archibald, 

appointed brigade-major. 61 

inspector. 91 

Anderson, John, 

mentioned. 484, 484 

Andover Iron Works, 

mentioned. 550 

Andrews, Timothy P., 

mentioned. 443 

Annapolis, Md., 

respecting removal of stores at. 546 

port and harbor of, to be fortified. 573 

Antiscorbutics, 

for hospitals in Northern Department. 368 

Appalachicola, Fla., 

mentioned. 501 

Apothecaries {see Pay; Half pay; Rations; Forage; Land), 


duties of. 363, 387, 390, 391, 398, 399 

appointment of. 365, 389, 395 

how appointed. 388 

removal of medical stores by the. 369 

(see Vacancies. ) 

Apothecaries’ mates {see Pay; Rations; Clothing), 

authorized. 370 

Apothecary-General {see Pay; Rations; Clothing), 

authorized. 370, 404, 408 

duties of. 370 

deputy, authorized. 404 

and his deputy, how appointed. 404 

letters to and from the, free of postage. 408 

assistant, authorized. 409 

and assistants to give bonds. 410 

mentioned. 501 

Appointments {see the several staff corps and military departments ), 


submit list of his. 12 

{see Staff officers. ) 

further, in the staff prohibited.. 42, 473, 494, 511, 593 

respecting, for corps, division, and brigade staffs. 45 

relative to, of supernumerary junior lieutenants in the staff depart¬ 
ments ... 185, 325,455,494, 566 

respecting certain, in authorized engineer regiments. 527 

ofiicers of Regular Army not held as vacating their office by, in the vol¬ 
unteer staff."... 686 

Appropriations, 

under “Pay Department,” except mileage, to constitute one fund. 477 

for the Subsistence Department to constitute one fund. 357 

no part of the, for the Ordnance Department to be used to pay freight 

charges. . 607 

for fortifications available until expended. 602 

Aransas Pass, Tex., 

respecting improvements at... 526 

Archer, Samuel B., 

mentioned. 86 

Arctic regions, 

respecting commutation of quarters to officers and men in the. 690 

Arizona, 

traveling expenses of California and Nevada volunteers discharged in.... 472 

Arkansas, 

arsenal in. 584 

no recruiting agents to be sent to.' 677 













































.index. 695 

Arkansas River, rage. 

respecting improvement of the. 528 

Arlington, Va., 

memorial bridge from Washington Citv to. 526 

Armament, 

of certain fortidcations. 572 

of port and harbor of Annapoli'’. 573 

Arm AND, Charles T., 

mentioned. 103, 3 (M 

Arm chests, 

to be provided for each regiment. 559 

Armistead, Walker K., 

mentioned .. 433 

Armorers {see Pa'y; Master armorers), 

appointment of. 544 , 545 , 572,579,586 

duties of. 551 

dismissed. 554 

to be designated as “corporals”.:. 590 

Armorer’s department, 

inquiry to be made into conduct of the. 554 

Armories {see N.\tional armories; Springfield Armory; Harpers Ferry 
Armory), 

respecting site for, on the Western waters. 500,582 

establishment of. 574 

artificers, etc., in, exempted from jury duty. 576 

placed under direction of the Ordnance Department. 580 

civilian superintendents of, may be appointed. 587, 588 

pay of civil superintendents of*. 588 

master armorers. 588 

superintendents of, to be ordnance officers. 590 

pay of officers employed in the. 575 

Arms (see Rifles; Patent arms; Muskets; Carbines; Contractors), 

in store deliverable on order of the Adjutant-General.*.. 54,143, 540 

willful damage to, how punished. 177, 308, 383,561,580 

for corps of sappers and miners. 492 

importation of. 537, 538, 543, 690 

captured, how disposed of . 537,541 

of men leaving the service to be retained... 537,544 

sick officers and men to be purchased. 537 

respecting purchase of. 538,539, 540,572,574 

manufacture of. 539,543,555,563 

care and custcnly of, lodged with Board of War. 543 

imported, how distributed or cared for. 543,546, 565 

to be provided for cavalry. 544 

States requested to collect all, not in actual service. 545 

to be marked “United States”. 546 

respecting punishment for refusal to deliver. 546 

construction of magazines for. 547 

measures to supply the Army with. 548 

arrival of imported. 550 

State of Virginia requested to loan. 558 

returns of, to be made. 556, 557,569 

issues of, how made. 559 

removal of. 545, 564 

how obtained. 568, 573 

report on condition of. 570 

exportation of, prohibited. 573 

importation of, to be free of duty. 573 

to be provided for the militia. 574 

deposited in certain arsenals on the western waters. 576 

depots of, to be established. 580 

issue of, to emigrants to certain Territories. 586 

national asylums. 592 

respecting contracts for manufacture of. 588 

alteration and improvement of. 588 

duty remitted on certain imported. 590 

sale of old or unsuitable. 593 

damage to, in hands of the troops to be reported. 597 




























































696 


INDEX. 


Armstrong,-, 

accepted appointment of deputy commissary. 246 

Armstrong, John, 

requested to inspect magazines of provisions.,- 87, 253 

Armstrong, John, 

mentioned. 176,297 

Army {see Officers), 

appointments on the civil staff confer no rank in the. 14 

committee on retrenchment of expenses of the. 14 

{see Northern army; Southern army.) 

mail matter for the, on Mexican frontier and in Mexico. 31 

committee to provide for the sick of the. 369 

innoculation in the, discontinued.-. 393 

arrears of jiayment of the, not to exceed two months. 460, 461, 462 

sale of stores prior to reduction of the. 568 

Army Corps, 

staff officers of, how appointed.i. 45,112, 231, 348 

of, how constituted..•- 76, 79,116,211, 345, 348, 355, 591, 604, 625 

ambulance service of. 420, 421, 422, 423 

Army Register, 

retired otficers to be borne on the. 32,40 

Arnold, Benedict, 

mentioned. 245 

Arrest, 

warrant officers in the civil staff liable to. 161, 293, 383, 490, 558, 644 

officers of the Commissary Department liable to. 257 

Arsenals {see Naval arsenals; Manufactories; St. Louis Arsenal), 

Secretary of War to direct building and management of. 565 

principal, where located...^. 570 

establishment of. 572, 576, 578, 582, 583,584, 588, 591, 601 

keepers of, to make returns to Ordnance Department. 580 

pay of officers employed in the. 585 

Articles of Wa'r, 

to ])e distributed to the Army. 54 

considered by Congress. 123 

copies of the, to be countersigned by the Judge-Advocate of the Army... 123 
Article 69. 128 

90 . 129,133 

91 . 133 


92. 133 

Artificers {see Pay; Clothing; Rations), 

necessary, how appointed. 167,174, 201, 544, 553, 579, 586 

(.5ce Harness makers; Collar makers; Wheelwrights.) 

company of, authorized. 186 

to have but one officer. 560 

corps of, how organized. 198 

regiment of, how organized. 561 

dissolved. 563 

removal to Carlisle of all, in Pennsylvania. 562 

{see Southern arm'l) 

necessary, at Springfield to be retained. 565 

guilty of neglect of duty, how punished. 575 

in armories exempted from jury duty. 576 

reports of, to be made. 578 

may be attached to regiments, corps, or garrisons. 580 

respecting, of the Ordnance Cori)S in Mexico.‘. 586 

to be designated as privates of the first class. 591 

Artificial limbs, 

Surgeon-General to furnish. 425, 426, 432 

transportation to applicants for. 221, 223, 226 

Artillery (.see Light artillery; Field artillery; Commissary of artillery; 
Conductor of artillery), 

uniform of. 16,21 

])urchase of wagons for the. 147 

all sheepskins to be preserved for use of the. 322, 565 

a paymaster to be appointed to each liattalion of... 464 

commanding officer of, to be member of subordinate board of ordnance... 553 

arrange all business of the Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment to be done in the field. 556 




















































INDEX. 


• 697 


A RTi Li.ER Y—Continued. Page, 

commanding officer of, to determine details for laboratory work. 557 

mentioned.. 557,558 

allowances to commanding offiicer of. 562 

a field officer of, to superintend business at Carlisle. 562 

ammunition for the, in the Southern army. 563 . 

Ordnance ])e])artment, merged into the... 581 

act merging the Ordnance Department in the, repealed. 583 

transfer of officers of, to the Ordnance Department. 584, 585 

senior officer of, in Army Corjis to act as chief of ordnance and artillery.. 591 

ArTILLERY-AKTI FICERS, 

commissions issued to officers of the... 549, 554, 559 

to be under command of commissary-general of military stores. 552^ 

liay of regiment of.1...1. 553, 560, 561,562* 

ap]>ointments and ])romotions in regiment of. 554, 559 

organization of regiment of, reduced. 563 

Artillerymen, 

respecting company of laboratory. 550 

Arth^lery yard, 

resiiecting plan for an. 544 

Ashley, Moses, 

a])pointed brigade major pro tempore. 95 

Asiatic cholera, 

iiKjuiry to be made into causes of. 427 

Assessments (.stc Quotas) , i 

of blankets to be made. 252 


Atlantic Ocean, 

respecting deej) waterways between the Great Lakes and the_ 

Assignment, 

of bounty land not recognized. 

retired officers to duty. 

forbidden. 

at the Soldiers’ Home authorized. 

certain officers with increased rank revoked. 

officers to duty in the AVeather Bureau revoked. 

quota of men lo be drafted in districts. 

Associations, 

Bureau of Refugees, etc., to cooperate with benevolent. 

Asylum (.src ^Military asylum). 

Auditors {(<ee Baggage wagons; Forage; Clothing), 

duties of army. 

Autograph signatures, 

yvritten, required in exercising franking privilege. 

Avery, Elisha, 

ajipointed deputy commissary-general of issues. 

pay and rations allowed to... 

mentioned. 

Aylett, AA’illiam, 

elected deputy commissary-general for the troops in A’^irginia- 

of purchases. 

salarv increased to 375 per month. 

to purchase not exceeding 10,000 barrels of corn. 

mentioned. 


. 526 

11 

34 

36 

37 

232, 356 
. 625 

. 668 

. 658 


98 
36, 38 


263 

245 

265 

243 

262 

251 

251 

282 


35. 


Babcock, Orlando E., 
mentioned. 


513 


Badges, 

on whom conferred; how worn. 

may be worn on occasions of ceremony 


. 21 

36,43, 44, 48 


Baggage wagons, 

allotment of, to general officers and line officers. 

the Adjutant-General and assistants. 

Inspector-General and assistants. 

Judije-Advocate and deputies. 

officers of the Quartermaster’s Department. 

Department of Military Stores 


... 172,186,494 
. 63,65,172,187 
95,102,172,187 
12<5,127,172,187 

. 172,187 

. 172,559 















































(i98 INDEX. 

•Baggage wagons —Continued. Page, 

allotment of, to the chief physician of the Army. 388 

commissaries of issues. 308 

purchases. 308 

prisoners. 172,187, 647 


army audftors. 172 

geographers. 189, 495 

Bailey, John, 

mentioned. 62 

Baird, Absalom, 

promotion of, in the Inspector-General’s Department, authorized. 113 

, mentioned. 86 

Bakers {see Pay; Rations), 

superintendent of, appointed. 253 

all army, to be licensed by the superintendent. 253 

contracts to be made with, to bake flour into biscuits. 264 

State of Pennsylvania requested to detail, .from the militia. 264 

company of, authorized. 281 

superintendent of, to make returns. 318 

Baltimore, Md., 

a quartermaster apjiointed for town of. 153 

respecting care of the sick in. 370 

paymaster appointed in. 447 

respecting deputy paymaster at.. 449 

removal of military stores at. 546 

Baldesqui, Joseph, 

resignation accepted. 451 

mentioned. 451 

Baldwin, Jeduthan, 

appointed engineer in the Continental Army. 487 

allowed pay and rank of lieutenant-colonel. 485 

to receive pay of colonel as heretofore. 492 

mentioned.. 490, 494,563 

Bancker, Everett A., 

mentioned. 121 

Band, 

authorized for battalions of engineers. 528 

Bandages, 

importation of, ordered. 364, 365 

Bank of Philadelphia, 

requested to purchase cattle in lieu of flour. 310 

Banks, John, 

appointment of, as conductor of artillery confirmed. 568 

Bankson, John, 

appointed inspector pro tern. 100 

Bannister, Seth, 

member of committee. 283 

Barber, William, 

on the march, attached to General Mifflin’s division. 60, 90 

to do duty of subinspector in General Lord Stirling’s division. 94 

to undertake the subinspectorship of Hand’s, Maxwell’s, and Stark’s 

brigades. 95 

permitted, for the present, to decline duties of inspector. 95 

appointed to act as subinspector. 89 

division inspector. 100 

Barber, Nathaniel, 

pay of, as deputy commissary of artillery. 546 

resignation accepted.1. 563 

Barker, Samuel Augustus, 

to act as brigade-major. 56 

Barnes, Joseph K., 

mentioned. 362 

Barrack IMaster General, 

pay of. 151 

to make return of his assistants. 165 

Barrack masters, 

appointment of. 143,181, 198, 201 

discharge of. 163 


















































INDEX. 


699 


Barrack master’s department, 

duties of officers of the, respecting articles furnished to Congress 

supernumerary officers in the, to be discharged. 

abolished. 

Barracks, 

to be built where permanent magazines are established. 


respecting building of....‘.'.'‘.'.'**i55,*i64,’i84, 

placed m charge of Quartermaster-General.. 

to be provided for prisoners of war. 040 

Barrels, . ’ 


ige. 

157 

166 

166 

152 

220 

163 

643 


Flour, pork, and beef, how disposed of. 275 

Bartlett, John, 

elected physician and surgeon-general of army in Northern Department.. 374 

mentioned.'. 352 

Bartlett, Josiah, 

Member of committee. 247 540 

Batch elder, Richard N., . ’ 

mentioned. 140 

Bates, Alfred E., 

mentioned. 443 

Bathorses, 

allotment of, to the Inspector-General. 95,172 

Judge-Advocate and deputies. 126^ 172 

officers of the Quartermaster’s Department. 172,187 

Department of Military Stores. 172, 

187,567,568 

commissary of prisoners. 172, 647, 651 

brigade quartermasters. 172 

express postmaster and express rider. 172,187 

Battalion paymasters. 


authorized for the Corps of Artillery. 464 

Baxter, Jedediaii H., 

mentioned. 362 


Baynton, John, 


appointed deputy paymaster-general to the troops on the frontiers of Vir¬ 
ginia and Pennsylvania.. 

resigned. 

mentioned. 


447 

453 

453 


Bayonets, 

respecting manufacture of. 

good firelocks without, not to be rejected. 

impressment of. 

Beackly, Christian, 

commissioned first lieutenant of artillery artificers. 

Beacons, 

sites for, to be determined by Topographic Bureau. 

Beatty, John, 

elected commissary-general of prisoners. 

resignation accepted. 

mentioned. 

Beauford,-, 

mentioned. 

Bebee, James, 

to be commissioned captain of sappers and miners. 

mentioned. 

Bedding, 

to be furnished to the trooi)S. 

, Bedford, Gunning, 

appointed deputy muster master for the New York Department 

promoted muster master general. 

mentioned. 

Bedloe, William, 

mentioned. . 

Beef {see Cattle; Barrels), 

exportation of, prohibited. 

committee to provide fresh. 

States’ quotas of... 

how delivered and paid for. 


537, 539, 543 

.. 538 

.. 548 


549 


505 

641 

647 

637 

380 

491 

493 


143 


631 

632 
629 


450 


. 251,280 

. 253 

306, 312, 313, 314 
.. 307,316 















































.700 


INDEX. 


Beef— Continued. 

part of quota of, from Maryland may he retained in that State. 310 

fresh, to he issued daily. 322 

Beer, 

contracts to he made for supplying. 265 

Bell, John K., 

mentioned. 52, 86 

Bell, William II., 

mentioned. 238 

Bells {see CiirKcii bells). 

Belton, John, 

to superintend the making and altering 100 muskets. 547 

Benet, Stephen V., 

mentioned. 534 


Bernard, Simon, 

to he assistant in the Corps of Engineers... 499 

to have rank of hrigadier-general hy hrevet. 500 

Berrien, John, 

aj)pointed hrigade-major. 59 

mentioned. 59 

Bethlehem, Pa., 

removal of militarv stores to. 548 


Biddle, Clement, 

elected deputy quartermaster-general. 

appointed commissary-general of forage. 

mentioned. 

Bills of credit, 

depreciation of continental, to he remedied. 

Binding, 

hy the Public Printer not to exceed allotment to hureaus. 

Binney, Barnabas, 

appointed hosiiital physician and surgeon. 

Bird,-, 

mentioned. 

Biscuits, 

dour to be baked into. 

respecting issue of captured. 

Blacksmiths {see Pay; Rations; Clothing), 

company of, to he sent to camp. 

to be attached to ambulance corps of divisions. 

necessary, in Ordnance Department to he enlisted. 579, 

to be designated as ‘ ‘ corporals ”. 

Blaine, Ephraim, 

ajipointed to purchase blankets and shoes. 

commissary for Colonel Mackay’s battalion. 

to the troops in Cumberland County, Pa. 

elected deputy commissary-general of inirchases. 

commissary-general of purchases. 

to make returns of supplies furnished by each State. 

continued commissary-general of purchases. 

mentioned. 238, 278, 

Bland, Richard, 

mentioned. 126, 

Blaney, Aaron, 

jiay and rations allowed to, as issuing storekeeper. 

Blankets, 

importation of. 242, 

purchase of. 146, 243, 247, 249, 250, 

allowance to men bringing a good new, into camp. 241, 

assessment of, recommended to State legislatures. 

price to be charged to enlisted men for. 

issues of. 301, 

to be delivered to director-general of hospital. 277, 

Bleeker, Leonard, 

to do the duty of inspector. 

Blicker, James, 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues. 

mentioned. 


144 

152 

144 

17 

44 

389 

540 

264 
322 

145 
422 
586 
590 

243 

248 
252 

265 
303 
312 

317 
303 

398 

244 

251 
275 

249 

252 
268 

318 
376 

100 

265 

265 
















































INDEX. 


701 


Bloomfield, ]Moses, Page. 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

resignation accepted. 390 

mentioned. 395 

Board OF Commissioners (.see Soldiers’ Home), 

to investigate plan for reclamation of alluvial basin of Mississippi River.. 512 

Board of Ordnance, 


Board of Ordnance and Fortification, 


Board of Treasury, 

mentioned. 163,169,175,178,190, 255, 259, 263, 277, 

285, 294, 298, 302, 305, 326, 327, 328, 450, 452, 457, 551, 557, 562 

Board of War, 

reported a form of a commission for staff officers. 14 

to purchase six vagons, with horses and harness. 147 

superintend the civil departments of the Army. 153 

prepare regulations for the Quartermaster’s Department. 155 

employ agents for the purchase of forage. 155 

number of wagoners enlisted and regulations respecting them to be reported 

to the. 162 

to superintend the Quartermaster’s Department. 165 

procure from the Quartermaster-General returns of all officers, agents, 

etc., of the department. 165 

discharge supernumerary officers in the liarrack master’s department.. 166 

purchase covered wagons for the artillery. 147 

direct disposition of goods seized or contracted for in Philadelphia .. 159-290 
sitspend or dismiss all supernumerary officers in the (Quartermaster’s 

Department. 175 

furnish the Southern army with tents. 180 

make contracts for supplying the Army with beer, vegetables, soap, etc. 265 
cooperate with General Washington in effectual measures for supplying 

the Army. 268-548 

(.s‘ce IMassaciiusetts Bay.) 

inquire what measures have been taken by the Pennsylvania legislature 

to lay up magazines. 279 

order purchases of dour and provisions, etc. 280 

employ agents to purchase meat...- 280 

appoint directors and subdirectors of the company of bakers.. 281 

make regulations for conducting the hides department. 285 

prepare instructions, etc., for the conduct of the clothier’s department. 295 
appoint commissaries of hides and make regulations for their govern¬ 
ment. -97 


advise State executive powers of any considerable additions to stock of 

clothing.— - - - -._— - -99 

give orders for supplying prisoners of war with indian meal in lieu of 

flour. 399 

purchase leather. 300 

superintend department of purchases and issues. 302 

furnish the Southern army with clothing and equipments. 318 

confer with minister from* France respecting certain officers. 489 

frame regulations for the Corps of Engineers, etc. 490 

employ persons for the manufacture of Hints... 541 

contract for a number of cannon of the new construction. 546 

relative to delivery of leather by the.... 547 

authorized to purchase powder and military stores.-. 547 

relative to contracts for making steel. 550 

to inquire into conduct of the armorer’s department.. 554 

contract for muskets and liayonets .. 555 

furnish certain military stores to the Southern army.-. 563 

ammunition and equiiunents to the artillery and cavalry in the 

Southern army; employ artificers to repair arms. 563 

relative to officers and artiticersat the Springfield laboratory.... 565 

reports of. 

mentioned.- - • ^2 

163, 168, 170, 173,174,176, 178, 260, 263, 2/0, 2/ 4, 2/ / , 2/9, 











































702 


INDEX. 


Board of War and Ordnance, 

to appoint agents to purchase necessaries for the Army. 296 

all contracts for casting cannon turned over to the.-. 547 

to submit estimate for a brass foundry...'. 551 

appoint persons to manufacture flints. 541 

contract with Mr. Byers as superintendent of a l)rass foundry. 553 

for battering cannon, mortars, etc. 554 

appoint a field commissary of military stores. 556 

surveyor of ordnance.,. 558 

jn'ocure a quantity of shot and shell. 560 

remove unnecessary officers in de])artment of military stores. 560 

vacate contract with Mr. Byers. 565 

mentioned. 547, 551, 552, 553,556, 556, 557, 558 

Boards Medical board; Light-House Board), 

appointed to reorganize mode of making coast surveys. 503 

consider subject of fortifications, torpedoes, etc. 520, 601 

examine all inventions of heavy ordnance, etc. 519 

to report on property of the Signal Corps. 623 

Boards of engineers, 

appointed. 511,512, 513, 519, 522, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528 

Boards cf enrollment, 

composition and duties of. 668, 670, 672, 673, 674, 676 

Boards of examination,' ' 

composition and duties of. 211, 212, 346, 347, 470, 471, 673 

to pass on offi(‘ers and men prior to detail for signal duty. 614 

Bodo, Otto, • 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

accepted commutation in lieu of half jiay.401 

Bombardiers, ' 

company of, how organized. 498 

disbanded. 500 

Bomford, George, 

mentioned. 534 

Bond, Jr., Thomas, 

elected purveyor. 389 

mentioned. 362, 391 

Bonds, 

to be furnished bv officers of the Quartermaster’s Department. 199, 

202, 205, 207, 208 

department of purchases. 269, 

284, 285, 335, 338, 448 

issues. 269,284,285,448 

Pav Department. 445, 448, 

455, 458, 459,460, 461,463,464, 466, 467, 468 

IMedical Department.410, 419, 423 

clothier-general. 318 

paymasters and military storekeepers at arsenals and 

armories. 585 

commissioner and assistants of Bureau of Refugees, 

Freedmen, etc. 655, 656, 657 

of officers of the Pay Department, when to be renewed. 469 

Books, 

for the inspecting and mustering department. 179 

respecting purchase of, for the Adjutant-Generars Office. 80 

Boston Harbor, Mass., 

mentioned. 511 

Boudinot, Elias, 

appointed commissary-general of prisoners, with rank of colonel. 639 

empowered to appoint deputies. 639 

mentioned. 127, 637, 641 

Bounty, 

wagoners to receive same, as enlisted men of the Army. 161 

a suit of clothes as a.*.. 162 

respecting a, for the manufacture of muskets. 541 

to laborers of the Ordnance Department. 579 

respecting, of soldiers transferred to the Navy. 672, 677 

received by ininors to be repaid before their discharge. ’ 675 

respecting, for colored volunteers. 676 



















































INDEX. 


703 


Bounty fund, Page. 

retained, of colored soldiers, how disposed of. 659 660 

Bounty land (sfg Land), . ’ 

artificers and laborers of ordnance entitled to. 586* 

Bowman, John, 

elected deputy paymaster for the western district. 453 

Box, Daniel, 

to do duty as brigade major. 53 55 

mentioned..!! ]!! 54 ’ 56 

Bradford, John, . ’ 

mentioned. 179,181,273,300 

Bradford, William, 

to do duty as brigade major. 56 

Bradford, Jr., William, 

elected deputy muster master general. 634 

mentione(l... 635 

Brandy, 

included in the ration. 328, 330, 333 

Brandywine, ’ ’ 

issue of rum for gallantry of troops in battle of ... 268 

Brandywine Shoals, Pa., 

works on, mentioned. 504 

Braxton, Carter, 


member of committee. 540 

Brazos River Channel and Dock Company, 

mentioned. 526 

Bread Hard bread). 

Breck, Samuel, 

mentioned. 52 

Breckenridoe, Joseph C., 

mentioned. 86 

Breeches, 

purchase of leather and deerskins for. 153, 274 

ljuckskin, to be purchased. 142 

Breech-loading guns, 

respecting contraction and test of. . 593 

Brent, Robert, 

mentioned. 443 

Brevets {see Uniforms), 

may be issued to certain officers who in 1777 held a commission by, higher 

than their present rank. 23 

conferrable for gallant services. 26 

ten years’ service in any one grade. 26, 681 

only by consent of the Senate. 29 

on volunteer officers for services prior to appointment in 

Regular Army. 36 

when, entitled to pay or emoluments. 456 

Brewen, Jeremiah, 

appointed to superintend the artificers.. 490 

Brewer, Jonathan, 

appointed barrack master. 142 

mentioned. 142 

Brewer, Samuel, 

mentioned. 53, 54 


Bribes, 

contractors offering, how punished. 216 

Brice, Benjamin W., 

mentioned. 443 

Brice, Jacob, 

appointed brigade major. 62 

inspector. 95 

Bridges, 

construction of, across the Detroit River..... 520 

Great Kanawha River, AVest Virginia. 522 

location of, across Mississippi River at Hickman, Ky. 522 

{see National Road; North River Bridge.) 
examination and construction of. 'AH, '512 








































704 


INDEX. 


ERiDciEs —Continued. Page. 

over the Mississippi River to 8t. Louis, Mo... o26 

(.sxr ^Memorial Bridge.) 

across Niajjara River. 527 

Brigade inspectors (see Bay; Rations; Forage; Baggage wagons), 


office of, annexed to that of brigade majors. 61, 93 

duties of. 93, 97, 98 

respecting tents for. 99 

provisionally retained... 110 

superseded l)y assistant inspectors-general. 110 

Brigade .majors {see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized. 53, 54, 60, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71 

appointed. 53, 54,55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 66 

to hold their rank in the line. 60, 70 

office of brigade inspector annexed to that of. 61, 93 

Brigade quartermasters {see Pay), 

how appointed. 156 

authorized. 195,202 

appointed. 183 

to perform duties of conductors of military stores. 568 

supersedetl by assistant quartermasters-general. 202 

Brig.vdes, 

respecting staff officers of. 45 

composition of staff of. 75, 96,106,194, 207, 210, 344, 416 

issue of signal flags to. 186 

lieutenants of ambulance corps to be assigned to.. 420 

a conductor of military stores to be assigned to. 559 

Brigade surgeons, 

to lie known as surgeons of volunteers and attached to the general’medical 

staff..;. 419 

Brumfield,-, 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 

Bri.mstone, 

collection of, in the several colonies. 535 

Brookfield, Mass., 

order for a laboratory at, revoked. 547 

Brooks, John, 

attached, on the march, to General de Kalb’s division. 60, 90 

to be considered as deputy adjutant-general at West Point. 62 

appointed to act as subinspector. 89 

Brown, Clark, 

mentioned. 144 

Brown, Daniel, 

pay and rations allowed to. 244 

Brown, Hubbard, 

appointed conductor of artillery. 539 

Brown, James, 

elected chief physician of the Army. 394 

mentioned. 362 

Brown, Josiaii, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk at scales. 244 

Brown, Nathan D., 

mentioned. 443 

Brown, Willia.m, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk. 244 

Brown, William, 

elected assistant physician for the flying camp. 367 

surgeon-general of hospital in the iniddle department. 375 

physician-general in the middle department. 378 

resignation accepted. 383 

mentioned'..'”361,378 

Brownson, Nath.vn, 

elected deputy purveyor of hospital for the Southern army. 393 

hospital. 398 
















































INDEX. 


705 


Brunswick, N. J., . Page. 

mentioned. 

Brunswick, Ga., 

respecting inspection of work on outer bar of. 525 5‘?6 

Buchanan, William, 

elected deputy commissary-general of purchases. 262 

commissary-general of purchases.• 265 

mentioned... 288, 264, 265,' 279, 283 

Buckshot, 

to be put into all cartridges. 548 

Buffington, Adelbert R,, 

mentioned. 534 

Buildings {see Pension Bureau; School buildings), 

rent of certain, occupied for public uses... 571 

all, no longer wanted to be sold. 178 

limitation of expenditures on public. 229 

respecting, held by the late Confederate States. 658 

Bullets, 

imported, to be purchased. 555 

Bullit, Thomas, 

appointed deputy adjutant-general. 54 

advanced to rank of colonel. 54,57 

Bullock, Archibald, 

member of committee. 540 

Buoys, 

sites for, to be determined by Topographical Bureau. 505 

Burbeck, Henry, 

mentioned. 483 

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 

created. 655 

to prohibit whipping or maiming. 659 

operations of, in States when discontinued. 661 

educational department of the, to be continued. 662 

when to be discontinued. 663 

mentioned. 656, 659, 660, 661, 662 

Bureau of Military Justice, 

created. 131 

how constituted. 131,132 

merged into Judge-Advocate-General’s Department.'.. 133 

Bureaus, 

heads of, not to print their reports at public expense.. 31 

receive pay for services when the Government is a party. 34 

official letters to heads of, to pass free of postage. 38 

franking privilege conferred on heads of. 34, 38 

{see Topographical Bureau.) 

official postage to be paid from contingent fund of. 681 

Burke, Thomas, 

member of committee. 253 

mentioned. 318 

Burnet, William, 

appoimed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

elected physician and surgeon-general of army in Eastern Department... 374 

chief physician and surgeon of the hospitals. 392 

mentioned. 362, 395 

Bushnell, David, 

to be commissioned lieutenant of sappers and miners. 491 

promoted to rank of captain . 493 

to command the corps of saj, pers and miners. 495 


Butchers, 

pay of, by whom regulated 

how governed. 

Butler, Anson, 

mentioned. 

Butler, Edward, 

mentioned. 

Butler, Thomas, 

appointed public armorer . 
mentioned. 


. 262 

. 305 

. 548 

51,52, 85,36 

. 545 

. 554 


S. Doc. 229-45 















































706' INDEX. 

Butler, William,' , 

mentioned. d2 

Byers, James, 

mentioned. 553, 565,569 


C. 


Cabell, -, 

appointed brigade major. 61 

inspector. 89, 94 

Cadets {see Medical Cadets), 

ten, authorized in Corps of Engineers.•. 497 

Caldwell, Andrew, 

commissioned second lieutenant of artillery. 549 

resignation accepted. 559 

Caldwell and Mease, (Messrs.), 

mentioned. 246 

Calhoun, John C., 

mentioned. 4,5, 533 

California, 

respecting a deep-water harbor on the coast of. 525 

pay of military storekeepers in, increased.^. 587 

respecting arsenal buildings in. 588 

California Debris Comaussion, 

how organized. 525 

California Volunteers, 

traveling expenses of, discharged in certain Territories. 472 

Calumet River, III., 

mentioned. 519 

Calfskins, 

to be dressed for drumheads. 311, 562 

Camden, N. J., 

mentioned. 522 

Camp {see Flying Camp), 

respecting, in Virginia, for prisoners of war. 160 

erection of shades and bowers in. 186 

Campaigns, 

inspections and reviews to be held at end of. 88 

Campbell, Donald, 

elected deputy quartermaster-general. 141 

to have the rank of colonel. 141 

Campbell, George, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgeon.. 395 

Camp equipage, 

articles of, how^ obtained. 145, 247 

to be purchased. 145 

provision and distribution of. 174 

Secretary of War to provide yearly for necessary. 195 

may be issued to detachments of sailors or marines. 202 

Quartermaster’s Department to receive and distributo all. 204, 340 

duties of line officers respecting, received by them. 204 

to be furnished to Southern Army. 318 

Camp kettles {see Kettles). 

Canada {see Commissary-General of Stores and Provisions, Muster-Master- 
General), 

medicines to be sent to troops in. 365 

a physician and surgeon for the troops in.. 366 

Canadian volunteers, 

payments to. 465 

Canals, 

engineer officers to be detailed for making surveys, etc., of. 500 

around Falls of the Ohio River mentionecl.I. 505 

{see Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.) 
respecting, routes from Lake Frie to the Ohio River. 526 


{see Nicaraguan Canal; Illinois and Michigan Canal; Ship Canal; 
Iron Company Canal; Hennepin Canal; Louisville and Portland 
Canal. ) 








































INDEX. 


707 


Candidates, Page. 

examination of all, for appointment in hospital department. 405 

Candles, 

exportation of, prohibited. 251 

Canisters {see Cartridge Canisters). 

Cannon committee. 


to estimate number of cannon wanted. 538 

purchase or contract for cannon. 539 , 540, 541, 542 

increased. 539 

to employ proper persons to see the cannon proved. 540 

have certain cannon mounted if fit for service. 544 

deliver all contracts to the Board of War. 547 


Cannons {see Howitzers; IMortars; Ordnance; Contracts; Cannon Commit¬ 


tee), 

importation of.. 536, 537 

purchase of. 539, 541, 544,571 

powder to be furnished for jiroving. 543 

{see Fcrnaces.) 

disposition of captured. 544 

report on condition of. 570 

for port and harbor of Annapolis. 573 

superintendent of manufacture of iron, authorized. 586 

experiments and tests of. 593 

all rifled, to be tested. 600 

issues of smoothbore, for experimental purposes. 601 

Canteens, 

to be provided. 144, 687 

Canvas {see Tents). 

Capitaine-, 

granted rank of captain in the Corps of Engineers. 488 


Capitol, 

removal of railroad track in front of the. 511 

electrical apparatus in the, how supervised. 512 

Capitulation, 

benefits to oflicers from, at Yorktown. 19 

Captain, 

grade of, aViolished in the Adjutant-General’s Department. 76 


Caps, 

worsted, authorized. 142, 291 

purchavse of uniform or forage, forbidden until old pattern is exhausted .. 222 

woolen, to be issued to the troops. 291 


Carbines, 

may lie issued to employees of the C)nartermaster’s Department. 143, 540 

Carey, \\SA B., 

mentioned. 

Carey, Richard, 

ap})ointed brigade major. 

Carlisle, John, 

appointed an assistant to the Adjutant-General. 64 

to do the duty of brigade major. 0 -^ 

appointed assistant adjutant-general. 00 

Carlisle, Pa. {see Commissary of Military Stores), 

magazines of provisions to be formed at. 316 

military stores to be removed to. 046 

pav of contractor for lumber wanted at.- - - - 049 

artificers in department of military stores in Pennsylvania to be removed to. 562 

respecting artillery artificers at. 063 

Carne, John, 

ai)pointed assistant deputy apothecary 111 Southern Department. 39o 

Carpenters, . 

respecting appointment of a master.- 1^1 

carbines may be issued to, in Quartermaster’s Department. 143,54U 

Carpenters’ tools, 

purchase of, for each regiment authorized. t40 

Carriage MAKERS (see Pay; Rations), , . , c—- roa 

emplovment of, in Ordnance Department, authorized... 

to be designated as “corporals”. 09U 













































708 


INDEX. 


Cakriages, 

committee to consider plan for providing, for public service. 145 

impressment of, to be avoided. 146 

issue of forage in cases of detained hired. 149 

Carrington, Edward, 

mentioned. 190, 326, 457, 569 

Carrington, Mayo, 

appointment as deputy quartermaster-general for the Southern army 

confirmed. 180 

Carroll, Charles, 

member of committee. 14, 286 

mentioned. 157 

Cartel {see Prisoners of war). 

Carter and Wadsworth, (Messrs.), 

mentioned. 324 

Cartridge boxes, 

how to be made. 554 

Cartrid(4e canisters, 

tin, may be supplied in lieu of boxes. 544 

Cartridges, 

buckshot to be put in all. 548 

respecting test of graduating and accelerating. 593 

Cary’s Ford Reef, Fla., 

works at, mentioned. 504 

Casey, Thomas L., 

mentioned. 483, 513 

continued in charge of building for the Library of Congress.,. 525 

Caswell,-, 

mentioned. 274 

Cattle {see Live stock; Inspector of cattle; Wagonmaster-General), 

horns of killed, to be saved. 142, 538 

hides, tallow, etc., of killed, to whom delivered. 270, 291 

Connecticut requested to furnish. 275 

superintendents of, how governed. 305 

Bank of Philadelphia requested to purchase. 310 

certain States called on for a supply of. 310, 311 

Cavalry {see Forage), 

uniform of. 21 

horses to be procured for the. 180 

arms to be provided for the... 544, 574 

ammunition and equipments for the, in Southern army. 563 

Cavalry forge, 

division ambulance officer to have a traveling. 422 

Cemetery (see National cemeteries), 

near City of Mexico subject to same rules as national cemeteries. 221, 222 

Certificates, 

of administration of oath of office. 175 

issues of, in Quartermaster’s Department. 160,161,177 

Commissary Department. 259, 292, 309, 319 

of clothing... 292, 293 

lists of commissaries of purchases and issues authorized to give, to be 

made..'. 326 

of discharge from draft. 670, 671 

enlistment of slaves. 675 

Champion,-, 

appointed barrack master to the French army. 181 

Channel, 

respecting a, through Southwest Pass of Mississippi River. 526 

through Sabine Lake to be reexamined. 528 

Chapman, Nathaniel, 

commissioned captain in regiment of artillery artificers. 554 

excused from further service. 561 

Chaplains {see Hospital chaplains). 

Charleston, S. C. (see Commissary of Prisoners). 

Chase, Samuel, 

member of committee..... 246, 283, 367 











































INDEX. 


709 


Chase, Thomas, Page. 

to continue to do duty of brigade-major. 53 

mentioned.] 53 

Checks, 

in payment of claims of colored soldiers to whom made payable. (>60 

Cheever, Ezekiel, 

appointed commissary of artillery stores.. 536 

excused from further service.'. 560 

mentioned. 533 , 539 

Chesapeake and Delaavake Canal, 

mentioned. 526 

Chesapeake Bay, 

mentioned. 500 

Chester, John, 

mentioned. 56 

Chief Engineer, ^ 

authorized. 485 

api)ointed. 487 

to be member of subordinate Board of Ordnance.. 488, 553 

Chief Hospital Physicians (.see Pay), 

authorized. 384 

appointed. 389 

duties of. 384, 385, 386, 387, 389 

to he appointed by Congress. 388 

office of, abolished. 396 

Chief of Artillery and Ordnance, 

senior artillery officer in Army Corps to act as. 591 

Chief of Engineers (,w Rank; Pay), 

authorized. 509, 510,513, 527, 529 

selection of. 498, 509, 510, 514 

to determine equipments for sappers and miners. 504,513 

letters to and from the, free of postage. 502 

authorized to enlist artificers. 497 

employ civil engineers. 518 

special duties assigned to the. 511, 513, 515, 516,523,524,525, 527, 528 

entitled to use of books in Library of Congress. 524 

mentioned. 514,515, 516, 521, 522, 523, 524,525, 526, 528 

Chief of Ordnance {see Rank; Pay), 

authorized. 579, 583, 590,592,594, 596, 604, 605 

duties of. 579, 580, 581, 586, 596,597,603, 605 

how appointed. 592, 597 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage. 584 

rank of a.ssistant to the. 603, 604 

mentioned. 597,000 

Chief of Staff, 

brigadier assigned to principal army to act as. 72,109 

Chief of Topographical Engineers, 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage. 502 

Chief Physician (see Director-General and Chief Physician), 

authorized. 366, 384 

appointed.J. 366, 394 

to take the oath of office.-. 390 

(see Pay; Rations; Forage; Land; Baggage w.\gons; Southern 
Army. ) 

Chief Physician and Surgeon (see Physician; Pay), 

authorized. '^<^4 

appointed. 364,389,392. 

duties of. 

to be appointed by Congress. 388 

take the oath of office. 3^0 

office of, abolished. 396 

Chief Signal Officer (see Rank; Pay; Rations), 

authorized. 313, 614, 616, 624, 626 

duties of. 314, 615, 622 

may sell surplus maps, etc. 315, 616 

be detailed to take charge of AVeather Bureau. 622 

mentioned.. 314, 616, 621, 623, 624 



















































710 


INDEX. 


China, 

ten jier cent increased pay allowed officers serving in. 48 

Cholera {see Asiatic cholera) . 

Church bells 

and others taken from New York to be returned. 569 

Cider 

to be supplied to the Army. 265 

Church, Benjamin, 

elected director of, and physician in, hospital. 363 

mentioned. 361, 364 

arrested for holding correspondence with enemy. 364 

Church, Thomas, 

appointed brigade major. 62, 95 

Churchill, Sylvester, 

mentioned... 86 

Cincinnati, Ohio, 

respecting quartermaster’s depot ^t. 217 

Citizens, 

grant of half-pay applicable only to officers who are. 13 

all authorized staff officers to be. 70,108,195, 407 

Civilians, 

may be appointed to fill vacancies in Quartermaster’s Department. 227 


to be examined before appointment as paymasters. 477 

Civil engineers, 

may be appointed to vacancies in Corps of Topogra})hi(;al Engineers. 502 

employment of, in Corps of Engineers.. 500, 518 

authorized.. 501 

authority for employment of, revoked. 502 

Civil office, 

half-pay officers may hold a..15, 380, 453 

Civil staff, 

appointments on the, confer no rank in the Army. 14, 635 

status of warrant officers on the. 161, 293, 380, 490, 558, 644 

Claiborne, Richard, 

appointed brigade major. 59 

Claims, 

respecting, of creditors of the U. S. 178,181, 212, 309, 347 

to confiscated lands. 657 

for pay, etc., of colored soldiers. 660 

to exenq)tion from draft. 674, 675 

for servants’ quarters not allowed.^_ 684 

payment of, in favor of disloyal persons forbidden.. 511, 517, 686, 687 

Clark, Abraham, 

member of committee. 254, 283 

mentioned. 454 

Clay, Joseph, 

elected deputy paymaster-general in Georgia. 448 

to place funds in hands of certain staff officers in State of Georgia. 158, 450 

mentioned. 289, 452 

Clerks {see Pay; Rations; Forage). 

authorized for the Adjutant-General. 64 

commissary-general of purchases. 306 

military stores. 551 

prisoners. 644 

Paymaster-General. 449,452 

clothier-general. 296, 298 

necessary, in Quartermaster’s Department, how appointed_ 167,169,176,186 

hospital, by whom appointed. 364 

appointed, in department of military stores. 568 

{see Paymaster’s clerks.) 

Cleveland, Moses, 


Clinton, George, 

member of committee. 239, 536 














































INDEX. 


711 


Page. 
55,60, 94, 96 


Clinton, James, 

mentioned. 

Cloth, 

no money to be paid for jiatent process for preservation of 

Clothier-general (see Pay; Bond), . 

authorized. 251,293 

duties of... 266, 267, 273, 275, 281, 287, 292, 293, 298, 301, 319, 320, 321*, 322,’ 326! 491 

appointment of, announced to the Army. 3 Pj 

to deliver all cloth fit for tents.. . 143 953 

send agents into each State to buy linen and clothing* ’Si 

{see Commissary-general of clothing.) 

States requested to deliver linen fit for shirts to the. 263 

to appoint an agent in Georgia.!".!!'.!!!'. 264 

deputies in each State.!!!!!!!!.' 273 

remove stores to Bethlehem, Pa.268 

(see Clothing; Caps; Clerks.) 

to deliver blankets, shirts, etc., for sick and wounded. 273, 277, 376 

return goods taken from merchants in Philadelphia. 293 

make full account of sale, etc., of goods taken in Philadelphia. 293 

receive his instructions from the war office. 323 

mentioned. 182, 251, 252, 262, 274, 276, 2^, 294, 32i, 322, 376 

deputy in Georgia mentioned. 289, 450 

duties of. ’ 290 

Clothiers’ department (.see Committee), 

compilation to be made of regulations of the. 286 

ordinance regulating the. 293 

respecting seizures made by officers of the. 290 

mentioned.*. 321 

Clothiers {see Pay; Rations), 

authorized. 293, 301 

duties of. 182, 294, 295, 299, 301, 319, 321 

mentioned. 266, 281 

Clothing (.see Clothier-general; Clothiers; Commissary of clothing; Uni¬ 
form) , 

allowance of, regulated. 16, 247, 320 

issuable to staff officers. 14, 301, 302, 380, 451 

officers of the hospital department. 311, 381, 388 

the commissary-general of prisoners. 645 

hospital stewards. 381 

geographers. 325 

sergeants of ordnance. 230 

artificers. 16,164, 302, 564 

of ordnance. 579, 581, 591 

engineer soldiers. 497,504 

enlisted men of the line. 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334 

wagoners. 16,161,162,164,165, 302 

bakers. 281 

officers’ servants. 17, 650 

respecting insufficiency of stock of. 22 

purchase of materials for. 142,146, 240 

articles of. 142, 241, 286 

punishment for embezzlement, etc., of. 177 

transportation of. 182 

respecting damage to or deficiency in. 182 

Quartermaster-General to receive and distribute all. 204, 340 

duties of line officers respecting, received by them. 204, 224, 225 

respecting issues of. 205 

importation of materials for. 242, 243, 252 

to be provided. 243, 246, 247, 250, 254, 264, 268, 271, 275 

(see Caps; Breeches; Stockings; Shirts; Linen; Woolen goods.) 

disposition of imported, and materials. 247, 248, 252, 285, 287, 308, 322 

issued to troops, how paid for. 249, 298, 301, 302, 464 

States recommended to impress. 275, 276, 277 

employ agents for manufacture of. 276, 277 

provide, for their respective lines. 299 

(,9ee Board of war; Blankets; Rations.) 
























































712 


INDEX. 


Clothing—C ontinued. 

purchases of and contracts for, l:)y whom made. 328 

to be provided yearly.^ 332 

surplus, to be sold by district paymasters. 334, 460, 461 

report on. 327 

commissary-general of purchases to procure all. 334 

no claim for use of patented process for preserving. 220, 223 

sale of old pattern, after issue of new uniform. ^ 221 

President to prescribe quality and kind of. 337, 338 

paymaster and assistants to have charge of. 460 

extra issues of, authorized. 211, 219, 225, 424 

issue of, to be established in general regulations. 464 

prisoners of war. 640 

destitute freedmen and refugees. 655 

miscellaneous issues of, authorized. 218, 219, 220, 222, 228, 687 

to be purchased for destitute citizens in Cuba. 230 

. mentioned. 209, 

250, 299, 303, 308, 319, 321, 324, 337, 339, 343, 344, 382, 383, 464,561 

Clymer, Daniel, 

appointed deputy commissary of prisoners..*- 641 

Clymer, George, 

directed to send 3 tons of steel and 5 tons of nail rods for the use of the 

Army in the Northern Department. 545 

Coast of the United States, 

respecting survey of the. 503 

Coats [see Uniforms), 

wearing red, forbidden. 19 

purchase of, not to be made until old pattern is exhausted. 222 

Coburn, John, 

to be allowed lieutenant’s pay. 541 

Cochran, John, 

elected physician and surgeon-general in ^Middle Department. 373 

chief physician and surgeon. 389 

director of military hospital. 390 

mentioned. 361,362,392 

Cochrane, Robert, 

to superintend hospital at Albany. 382 

Coffee, 

allowance of, fixed. 343 

may be commuted. 345 

Cogswell, Samuel, 

appointed deputy judge-advocate. 127 

Cogswell, Thomas, 

appointed wagon master to the main Army .. 179 

Collar Makers, 

to be immediately sent to the camp. 145 

Colonies, 

respecting importation of war material for the. 536, 690 

requested to set their gunsmiths at work. 537, 543 

employ persons to make saltpeter.537, 538,539 

erect powder mills. 540 

report condition of lead mines. 541 

Colors {see Flags). 

Colt, Peter, 

elected deputy commissary-general of purchases. 266 

Columbia, S. C., * 

arsenal to be established at. 601 

Columbia Hospital, D. C., 

mentioned. 425 

Columbia River, Wash., 

mentioned. 522 

Columbus, Ohio, 

arsenal to be established at. 591 

Combs, 

to be provided for the Army. 262 











































INDEX. 


713 


Commander in Chief {see George Washington), Page. 

committee appointed to confer with, on retrenchment of expenses. 14 

recommended that business of repairing coats be considered a primary 

ot3j0Ct____ 99 

empowered to furlough general and staff officers not necessary for the 

troops remaining in seryice. “ 93 

to regulate issue of forage.*58 151 

appointment of brigade majors by the, limited to captains of the brigade. ' 60 

assistants to the Adjutant-General to be approyed by the. 61 

to make regulations for the musters of troops.. 95 

may increase allowance of M-agons and bathorses. 95,172,186 

to appoint inspectors and subinspectors to militia in actiye seryice.. ’ 96 

regulate time, place, and mode of inspections. 100 

appoint a wagon master and master carpenter and fix their pay. 141 

fix allowance of forage.“. I 5 I 

order building of storehouses and stockaded barracks at places whe*re*a 

capital magazine is established. 152 

arrange the Quartermaster’s Department to the west^vard. 160 

authorized to enlist a corps of wagoners. 161,162 

to incorporate corps of wagoners with the line of the Army. ’ 164 

designate places of deposit for the States’ quotas of supplies. 166 

regulate issue of clothing to wagoners. 182 

issue of forage to the... 187 

baggage wagons and bathorses for the. 186 

to form and fix magazines of proyisions. 245 

offered reward for best substitute for shoes. 274 

authorized to determine the ration to be issued to troops. 288 

to arrange the Commissary Department to the westward. 292 

nomination, by the director of hospital and chief physician and surgeon, 

of surgeons not belonging to any State line, subject to approyal of the.. 395 

to form and fix magazines of milftary stores. 541 

with the commander of artillery, to arrange all business of the Ordnance 

Department necessary to be done in the field. 556 

to make a return of the officers in the Engineer Department. 492 

direct what clothing shall be issued to artificers. 564 

be furnished with returns of ordnance and ordnance stores. 565 

appoint a commissary of prisoners. 650 

mentioned. 150, 

151,158,162,166,168,170,171,172, 173, 174, 179,180,181,185,186, 242, 
245, 251, 254,255, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 266, 270, 282, 283, 284, 287, 293, 
294, 295, 300, 301, 305, 307, 314, 316, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 
363, 366, 368, 370, 372, 380, 384, 335, 386, 393, 395,396,398, 448,451, 488, 
490, 491, 493, 495, 541, 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 560, 563, 564, 566, 567 

Commerce, 

obseryations and signals for the benefit of... 614 

Commissary Department {see Subsistence Department), 

pay, etc., to certain employees in the.. 244, 245 

respecting superyision of the. 274, 291 

transmission of funds for the... 283 

{See Certificates.) 

Commander in Chief to arrange the, westward. 292 

States requested to inquire into conduct of all persons in the. __ 297 

report on condition of the. <^27,328 

mentioned. 255 

Commissary-General of Clothing, 

to supply the Army with combs. 262 

Commissary-General of Forage {see Pay; Rations), 

appointed in the main Army. 152 

to supply forage for horses of members of Congress... 164 

Commissary-General of Issues (see Pay), 

authorized. ^5^ 

to take the oath of office. “61 

duties of. 

257, 258, 260, 262, 268, 269, 275, 287, 290, 291, 30o, 306, 321, 326, 643 
mentioned... “ 66 > 279, 300, b03 
















































714 


INDEX. 


Commissary-General of Issues—C ontiimed. Pago. 


appointed. 263, 264, 265, 266, 272, 278, 291 

to take the oath of office. 261 

mentioned. 269, 279 

Commissary-General of Military Stores (see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized. 551 

appointed. 565 

duties of..*. 546, 548,551 

mentioned. 155,557 

Commissary-General of Musters Rank; Pay; Rations), 

authorized. 633 

appointed. 634 

duties of. 633 

mentioned. 252, 634 

and assistants granted one year’s pay. 636 

deputy, appointed. 635 

Commissary-General of Ordnance, 

authorized. 576 

duties of.-•- 577, 578, 579 

letters etc., to and from the, free of postage. 579 

Commissary-General of Prisoners (see Pay; Rations; Clothing), 

appointed. 639,641,648 

duties of. 549, 639, 640, 641, 642, 644, 645, 647, 649 

to be informed Congress disapproves of partial exchanges. 643 

reside at Army headquarters. 644 

mentioned. 291, 639, 641 

Commissary-General OF Purchases (see Pay; Rations; Forage; Bond), 


appointed. 265, 283, 303 

to take the oath of office. 261 

keep his office where Congress shall sit. 261 

not obliged to reside at place where Congress sits. 283 

duties of. 255, 257, 260,262, 264, 268, 269, 270, 271, 276,277, 281, 282, 283, 284, 

285, 287,288, 289, 290, 291, 299, 300, 302, 305, 312, 316, 317, 326, 334, 336, 343 
(see Certificates. ) 

not to be interested in trade. 334, 335 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage. 335 

mentioned. 273, 275, 278, 279,289, 300, 316, 317, 335, 336, 337,448, 641 

office of, abolished. 342 

assistant, authorized. 284 

to reside at Army headquarters. 284 

not to be interested in trade. 335 

mentioned. 317 

deputy, authorized. 254,264, 269, 271,272, 304, 316, 334 

appointed. 265,266,273 

to take the oath of office. 261 

duties of. 254, 

256, 257, 260, 264, 269, 270, 273, 282, 284, 293,317, 334,336, 364 

(see Certificates. ) 

funds for the deputy, in Georgia. 450 


Commissary-General of Stores and Purchases (see Pay; Forage), 

authorized. 239 

appointed. 239 

appointment of, announced to the Army. 239 

duties of. 152,158, 240, 245, 246, 247, 249, 250, 254 

to deliver all stores to Commissary-General of Issues. 255 

and deputies entitled to benetits under the Yorktown capitulation. 19 

mentioned. 251 

deputy, authorized. 239, 243 

appointed. ’ 243 


Com.missary-General of Subsistence (see Rank; Pay; Rations), 


to give bond and not to be concerned in trade. ;I38 

how appointed. 349 ^ 352 

























































INDEX. 


715 


Commissary-General of Subsistence—C ontinued. Page 

duties of. 338 347 

letters to and from the, free of postage. 339^ 340 

ex officio commissioner of the Soldiers’ Home 343 359* 353 

mentioned...34o’ 352 

assistant, authorized.. 34^ 343 343 349^ 359 

Commissary of army accounts, j > > > 

duties of Paymaster-General merged Avith those of the_ 457 

(’OMMISSARY OF ARTILLERY (st'g Pay), 

authorized. 

appointed.-!*!*. 1 ]. 536 

member of subordinate board of ordnance_. 553 

Commissary of clothing (st-e Pay; Rations), 

authorized. 246,247,248 

appointed. 248 

assistants to the, authorized.] ” *.. 247 

Commissary of forage (see Pay; Rations; ib\GGA(iE Vvagons; B.v™ 

authorized. 443 455 439 

appointed. 479 

duties of .. .;;; *i55,’i58,*i69,170 

mentioned .. 448,150,155,159, 288 

assistant, authorized. 439 

duties of.158,* 169,170 

Co.mmissary of hides {see Pay) , 

authorized. 263 297 

appointed.263’ 265 

duties of... 263, 270, 271, 274, 547 

meptioned... 285, 291, 297, 321 

assistants, authorized. 298 

C'oMMissARY OF HOSPITALS (seePAY; Rations; (Clothing), 

authorized. 37O 

(,’oMMissARY OF ISSUES {see Pay; Forage), 

authorized. 264,280,285,337 

appointed. 245, 248, 249, 252 

duties of. 98, 258, 259, 260, 261, 267, 270,281, 306,311, 376, 382,562,565 

mentioned. 246,263, 293,296, 641 

Commissary of military stores {see Field commissary of military stores), 

authorized. 551,560,567,568 

appointed. 542,545,549 

not to dispose of stores without order of Congress. 568 

in Pennsylvania to return certain bills. 569 

{see Pay; Baggage wagons), 

mentioned. 263,547, 551, 566, 567 

deputy, mentioned. 571 

Commissary of musters {see Pay), 

authorized. 631 

Commissary of ordnance {see Pay), 

deputy, authorized. 576, 579 

duties of. 577 

Commissary of ordnance stores, 

appointed. 549 

Commissary OF PRISONERS Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage wagons; Bat- 
horses), 

salary of, to be fixed by commander in chief. 639 

authorized. 639,648,650 

duties of... 639,644 

order of, sufficient for issue of provisions. 278, 641 

mentioned. 650 

deputy, authorized. 639 

appointed. 641 

duties of. 649 

Commissary of purchases {see Pay; Baggage wagons), 

authorized. -60, 336 

appointed. 286 

to take oath of. office. 284 

duties of. 256, 284, 317 

allowances to. 281, 283 




















































716 


INDEX. 


Commissary of purchases—C ontinued. ^^8®- 

mentioned. 247,307,318 

deputy, authorized. 334, 337 

duties of. 334 

to giv^e bonds. 335 

mentioned. 335 

assistant, authorized. 304,317 

appointed. ^^82 

duties of. 282,305 

allowances to certain. 264, 282 

Commissary of stores {see Pay), 

duties of. 246 

mentioned... 246 

deputy, authorized... 247, 248, 251 

mentioned. 247 

assistant, appointed. 250 

Commissary of stores and proyisions, 

Connecticut to appoint a. 239 

appointed. 239,243,245 

Commissary of subsistence (see Rank; Pay), 

authorized. 340, 341, 342, 344, 345, 348, 349, 350 

to give bonds. 342 

to be examined as to qualitications. 346 

number of, reduced. 350, 355 

mentioned... 355, 356 

assistant, authorized. 339,342 

not separated from the line. 341 

to give bonds.^. 342 

be examined as to qualitications. 346 

Commissary for horses and wagons, 

authorized. 155 

Commissary sergeants, 

authorized... 349, 350, 351, 357 

Commission (see Mississippi River Commission; INIissouri River Commission; 

California Debris Commission; Deep AVaterways Commission). 

Commission (Army), 

in every, “United States” to replace “United Colonies”. 11 

form of, for staff officers. 14 

Commission, 

officers of Quartermaster’s Department receiving a, not entitled to pay or 

rations... *... 162 

allowed to Commissary-General of Purchases. 243, 281,304 

superintendents for purchase of flour. 280 

deputy paymasters-general. 454 

Commissioner of Pensions. 

to pay commutation for artificial limbs. 425, 432 

Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds, 

office of, abolished; duties of, bv whom performed. 511 

duties of.^...5i6,511,512 

Commissioner of Bureau of Refugees and FreeDxMen {see Pay; Bonds; 

Oath of Office), 

authorized. 655 

duties of. 655, 656, 657, 658, 659, 660, 661, 662 

mentioned.. 660 

assistant, authorized. 655,656 

how appointed. . 662 

duties of..'.’*657, 658 

army officers not entitled to extra pay for duty as. 656 

detailed as, may be retained...!. 661 

Commissioners (see Engineer Commissioner; Soldiers’ Home). 

Committees of Congress (see Cannon; Medical; Secret Committees), 

to extract from the journals all resolutions relative to the Army. 14 

confer with General AVashington on means of retrenching expenses ... 14 

consider a report for a further allowance to officers of the Army. 15 

confer with General AAAshington to perfect arrangement of staff depart¬ 
ments.". Yj 


















































INDEX. 


717 


Committees of Congress —Continued. j 

to confer with :\Ir. du Coudrav. 

detine powers to be granted and exercised by Mr! *du CoiVdVaV. 

purchase woolen goods for the use of the Arjny. “ 149 . 

materials for watch coats.!'-!!!!!!'.'.!!!!!! 142 

consider plan for providing carriages for the public service 

center with General Washington on improvement of present state* of 

the army m Philadelphia.^. 140 . 

in Philadelphia to inform the Quartermaster-General of number of horses 

and oxen ht tor service. 

in conjunction with General Washington to make appointments fo'r’the 

Quartermaster’s Department. 

to extract from the journals the regulations of the Quartermaster’s Deiiart- 

ment. 

superintend the Quartermaster’s 'Department . 

on Quartermaster’s Department, increased.ics, 

discharged. ’ 

to inquire into easiest methods of making salt.'.*/.]'.!!!! 

devise ways and means for providing clothing. 

provide the northern army with provisions. 

employ persons to purchase blankets and woolens.. 

on clothing, increased. 

the Commissary Department, increased. 253," 282," ^8,'299, 

Commissary Department, and to devise means for supplying the Army 

^yith fresh beef, consolidated. 

to devise ways and means for obtaining a supply of salt. 

report of committee on the Treasury.. 

to confer with Mr. Wadsworth respecting office of commissary-general of 

purchases. 

extract from the journals the regulations of the commissarv’’s and 

clothier’s departments. 

marine committee, mentioned. 287, 

to superintend the Commissary Department. ’ 

on the clothier’s department, increased. 

departments of purchases and issues, discharged. 

to report on method of establishing an hospital. 

devise ways and means for obtaining medicines. 364, 

relative to purchase of medical stores b^ the. 364, 

to forward medical stores, etc., to certain points. 365,367, 

procure medicines, increased.,. 365, 

inquire into abuses in the Medical Department. 

report of, on the Treasury. 

on the Treasury, mentioned.. 452, 

to repair to the camp, mentioned. 

consider ways and means to obtain ammunition and military stores_ 

devise ways and means to introduce manufacture of saltpeter. 

make inquiries relative to lead and leaden ores. 536, 

advise General Schuyler to purchase arms of sick officers and soldiers . 

contract for making muskets and bayonets. 539, 

devise ways and means to encourage manufacture of saltpeter, sulphur, 

etc. 

consider plan for an artillery yard. 

procure steel and nail rods. 

reports of. 145,146,153,155,190, 250, 282, 287, 310, 326, 363, 555, 

Commutation {see Subsistence money; Half pay), 

rate of, for rations. 

14,18, 20, 25, 26, 31,35,185, 261, 323, 325,333, 379, 470, 575, 

respecting, of forage. 18, 21, 25, 27,33, 40,67,68, 70, 71,103,104,106,108, 

• rations. 19, 67, 

not allowed to officers neglecting to draw rations.. 

officers furnished quarters in kind not entitled to increased. 

for fuel prohibited.... 

of rations may be paid to soldiers held prisoners of war. 

Commutation money, 

may be paid by drafted men. 671, 

not accepted unless from noncombatants. 


'"age. 

87 

87 

-240 

-241 

145 

i-249 

147 

155 

157 

159 

164 

165 
239 
246 

246 

247 
247 
300 

253 

254 
267 

283 

286 

300 

291 

291 

303 

363 

367 

367 

368 
366 
368 
450 
453 
485 
535 
535 
537 
537 
541 

540 

544 

545 
569 

11 , 

681 

128 

104 

21 

36 

41 

348 

674 

677 






















































718 


INDEX. 


Companies {see Green and Barren River Navigation Company; Monon- 
GAHELA Navigation Company; Portage Lake and River Company Canal; 

Lake Superior Ship Canal Raiiavay and Iron Company Canal). 
Compensation, Page. 

to owners of slaves enlisted. 076 

Conductor of artillery, 

authorized. 576 

appointed. 539 

Conductor of military stores {see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized. 551 

appointed. 568 

duties of. 551 

to be appointed to each brigade. 559 

{see Field commissary of military stores; Brigade quartermasters.) 
Conductor of wagons {see Wagon master; Pay; Rations), 

authorized.. 171,186 

how appointed. 167 

mentioned. 145,182 

Confederate States, 

respecting land, buildings, etc., held by the late. 658 

Congress, Continental (see Thanks of congress; Resolves of congress), 

reserved power of ayjpointment or promotion. 11 

distribution of the journals of. 63, 99 

care of horses of members of. 156,164,179 

issues of stores to members of. 153, 269 

discontinued. 166, 306 

member of, to visit hospitals in middle department. 376 

Connecticut, * 

uniform of the, line. 15 

magazines of provisions to Vie established in. 157 

quota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

provisions. 306, 307, 312 

in stores, when deliverable. 314 

authorities of, requested to appoint commissaries. 239 

assist in procuring transportation. 272, 275 

furnish flour. 304 

cattle. 310 

collect saltpeter and brimstone. 535 

provisions furnished by, how paid for. 307 

respecting the Salisbury Iron Works in. 549 

Connor, Morgan, 

to act as Adjutant-General pro tempore. 57 

mentioned. 51,58 

Contagious diseases {see Clothing), 

respecting hospital for. 368 

Contingent fund {see Portage), 

restriction on expenditure of. 684 

Contractors, 

necessary, to be appointed. 157 

allowances to. 191 

offering bribes, how punished.216 

employment of, not desirable for supplying the Northern army_ !!!!! 251 

duties of, supplying rations.*.^. 322 

respecting settlement with. 454 

pay of the, at Carlisle, Pa.] ] ] ] 549 

Contracts Inspector of contracts). 


report on system of supplying the Army by. 170 ’ 191 

performance of, for subsistence of the Army . 397 ’ 393 

where to be deposited. i 94 ,‘ 33 i, 404! 575 

for casting cannon. 540 , 542 , 546,554,565 

for subsistence of Southern army. 248 

all, for casting cannon to be turned over to the Board of War* ^ ] 547 

respecting manufacture of arms by.] *" [ 533 

uniformity in making.■509'686, 687 

restriction on the making of. 225, 352, 432, 517, 599, 617 




















































INDEX. 


719 


Contract surgeons {See Mileage), 
authorized. 

number of.. 

limitation on number of, suspended 
to attend families of officers and men 
Converse, Thomas, 

to do duty of brigade-major pro tempore. 

inspector. 

Conway, Thomas, 

appointed major-general. 

mentioned. 

Cooke,-, 

mentioned. 

Cooking, 

Medical officers to assist in supervision of, for the men 
Cooks, 

ten, allowed in the signal corps. 

Cooper, Samuel, .. 

mentioned. 

Coopers, 

authorized. 

pay of, by whom regulated. 

mentioned.*' 

Copeland, Asa, 

appointment of, as conductor of artillery, confirmed_ 

Copper, 

Governor of Virginia re(piested to purchase. 

Corbin, Henry C., 

mentioned. 

Corn {see Indian Corn). 

Cornell, PI, 

mentioned.•. 

Cornell, Ezekiel, 

appointment of, as inspector for main army announced 

mentioned. 

Cornets, 

subsistence money to, of horse. 

Corporals, 


Page. 

.. 436,438 

. 428 

. 428 

• . 433 

• . 63 

• . 99,100 

• .- - 88 

58, 59, 60, 85, 88, 89, 91 

■. 146 

.. 420 

. 626 

. 52 

. 261,275 

. 262 

.. 305 

. 568 

. 544 

. 52 


564 

324 

324 

299 


armorers, carriage makers, and blacksmiths to be designated as. 590 


Corps of artificers {see Artificers), 

how organized. 198 

Corps of Engineers {see P^ngineering Department; Chief of Engineers), 

uniform of the. 18 

organized. 490,497, 510,513,527,528, 529 

increased. 498, 502, 503, 508, 509 

commandant of the, by whom appointed.'. 490 

appointed. 491 

how selected. 498 

(.see Shirts; Linen.) 

returns of the officers of the, to be made. 492 

accepted commutation in lieu of half-pay. 495 

memorial on necessity for a. 495 

to constitute a military academy. 497,498 

l)rofessors attached to the. 497, 498 

enlisted men in the, authorized. 497 

(see Board of Engineers; Engineer officers; Engineer soldiers.) 

retained. 499 

assistant in the, authorized. 499, 500 

{see Paymasters.) 

respecting appointments and promotions in the. 511, 512, 519 

Corps of Topographical Engineers (see Vacancies), 

organized. 502 

increased.-. 508, 509 

special duties assigned to colonel of the. 505 

details of officers of the. 503, 505 

abolished. 509 















































720 


INDEX. 


CouLoux AND Penet, (Messrs.), 

meiitroned. 

contract with. 

Court-martial, 

respecting depositions in trials by. 

attendance of civilian witnesses. 

duties of the judge-advocate of a. 

Cowan, Isaac, 

commissioned captain of artillery. 

to receive additional pay. 

mentioned. 

Cox, John, 

appointed assistant quartermaster-general. 

to employ a deputy to attend Congress. 

Cox, Richard, 

continued in the office of brigade major. 

mentioned. 

Craig, Henry K., 

mentioned.. 

Craig, James, 

mentioned. 

Craighill, William P., 

mentioned. 

Craigie, Andrew, 

elected apothecary. 

mentioned. 

Craik, James, 

elected chief hospital physician. 

appointed chief physician and surgeon. 

mentioned. 

Crane, Charles H., 

mentioned.^. 

Crane, Stephen, 

member of committee. 

Crawford, William, 

mentioned. 

Crawford, William H., 

mentioned. 

Credit, 

respecting purchase of rations on. 

Credits, 

respecting, in drafts ordered. 

Creditors, 

settlement of claims of.. 

payments to disloyal, forbidden. 

Crocket, James, 

mentioned. 

Croghan, George, 

appointed brigade major.. 

inspector. 

mentioned. 

Crook, Joseph, 

appointed to superintend the hospital at New ^Vindsor 
Cuba, 

pay of officers in, increased.. 

issue of public stores to destitute inhabitants of. 

arms, etc., to the people of. 

Cumberland road, 

mentioned. 

CuMMiNG, William, 

mentioned. 

Cushing, Nathaniel, 

continued in the office of brigade-major. 

Cushing, Samuel T., 

mentioned. 

Cushing, Thomas H., 

mentioned. 


I’age. 

. 555 

. 555 

. 125,133 

. 125,130,132,133 

. 129,133,134 

. 549 

. 550 

. 550, 560 

.. 156 

. 156 

. 65 

. 66 

.■_ 534 

.. 362 

. 483 

. 389 

.. . 362 

.. 389 

... 392 

. 362,392 

. 362 

. 239,536 

. 59 

. 5 

. 687 

. 678,679 

. 178,309,318 

424, 472, 511,592, 686, 687 

. 593 

. 61 

. 89,94 

. 86 

. 400 

. 47 

. 231,356 

.-. 604 

. 501 

. 140 

. 66 

. 338 

.. 52,86 











































INDEX. 


721 


Gl'STOM-nOUSE, 

renpecting compensation of topographical engineer charged with (ronstnic- 
tion of, at New Orleans. 

Cutter, Ammi Ruhamaii, ... 

elected physician-general of hospital in Eastern Department 

resignation accepted. . 

mentioned.] ] [... 

CuYLEK, Jacob, 

elected deputy commissary-general of prisoners. 


Page. 

505 

374 

378 

361 

262 


Dabney, Charles, 

to superintend the hospitals in Jersey 

mentioned. 

Dalecarlia Reseryoir, 

mentioned. 

Dallam, Richard, 


elected deputy paymaster-general for the flying camp. 446 

Dalton, Peter Roe, 

pay and rations allowed to, lus iderk. 244 

Damages, 

willful, to clothing, how punished. 182,205,321 


Dana, Francis, . ’ ’ ’ ’ 

member of committee. 283 

•Davidson, John, 

appointed brigade-major.. 62 

Davies, William, 

to do the duty of adjutant-general pro tempore. 61,94 

attached on the march to General Sterling’s division. 60^ 90 

appointed to act as subinspector. 89 

resigned. 146 

appointed deputy muster-master-general for the hying camp. 632 

Davis, Nelson El., 

reappointment of, in the Inspector-Generars Department authorized_ 113 

mentioned. 86 

Davis, Robert, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk. 244 

Day, Benmamin, * 

appointed brigade-major. 57 

Dayton, EIlias, 


member of committee. 326 

mentioned. 190, 569 

Dayton, Elias, (Colonel) 

mentioned... 59 


Deane, Silas, 

member of committee. 

mentioned. 

Dearborne,-, 

appointed deputy quartermaster to tlie main army. 

DE Bouilli,-, 

mentioned. 

DE Borre, Prud’Homme, 

mentioned. 

De Brahm, Ferdinand, 

appointed engineer with rank of major. 

promoted lieutenant-colonel. 

services dispensed with. 

Debts, 

dues to the Government for moneys received, how paid 
De Butts, Henry, 

mentioned.•. 

Deep Waterways Commission, 

respecting pay of engineer member of the. 

Deerskins, 

purchase of. 


239, 240,535,536, 537 
. 87,142,488 

. 182 

.. 90 


58,59 

488 

495 

495 

310 

51,85 


528 


153, ke, 274 


S. Doc. 229-db 










































722 


INDEX. 


Deficiencies {see Damages). Page-. 

De Gouvion, Jean Baptiste Obrey, 

appointed major of engineers. 487 

lieutenant-colonel in the Army. 488 

to take command of the corps of sappers and miners. 492 

receive the brevet of colonel. 494 

granted leave of absence for six months. 494 

having served with distinguished merit, has leave to retire from the service 

of the United States. 495 

mentioned. 489, 491 

De Hass, John P., 

mentioned. 58,59 

De Kalb, John, 

mentioned. 90,154 

De la Balme, Mottin, 

appointed inspector-general of cavalry. 87 

mentioned. 85,87 

resigned. 87 

de La Fayette, Marie Jean Paul Joseph Yves Gilbert du Motier, 

mentioned.•- 60, 90, 9L100 

Delafield, Richard, 

mentioned. 483 

de la Neuville, Sr., Noirmont, 

appointed inspector of the Army under General Gates. 90 

pay and rations allowed to. 90 

mentioned. 90 

De la Neuville, Jr., Noirmont, 

to have rank of major by brevet. 92 

allowed pay and subsistence of a major. 94 

mentioned. 91 

De la Radiere, Baileul, 

appointed colonel of engineers. 487 

colonel. 488 

mentioned. 489 

De Laumoy,-, 

appointed colonel in the Army of the United States, as engineer. 488 

having served with distinguished merit, has leave to retire from the serv¬ 
ice of the United States. 495 

mentioned. 488, 489, 491 

Delaware, 

uniform of the, line. 15 

authorities of, requested to impress certain supplies. 158, 289 

quota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

provisions. 306, 313 

provisions furnished by, when deliverable. 315 

respecting purchase of flour in. 287 

to furnish flour._•. 303, 304 

cattle. 310 

Delaware River, 

respecting improvement of the. 528 

Delezeume, Joseph, 

to report why he assumed command of the sappers and miners at West 

Point. 495 

De Murnand, John Barnard, 

appointed major in the Corps of Engineers. 490 

Denny, Ebenezer, 

mentioned. 51 

Dent, James T., 

mentioned. 121 

Dental surgeons, 

authorized; how appointed. . 438 

Department of Education, 

Commissioner of Public Buildings, etc., to furnish offices for the. 511 

Department of Issues, 

placed under superintendency of the Board of War. 302 303 

Resolves of Congress respecting the, repealed. ’ 318 

Department of Military Stores, 

report on state of the. 550 















































INDEX. 


723 


Department of Military Stores— Continued. 

pay and appointments of officers of the. 

artifice^ of the, in Pennsylvania to be removed to Carlisle 

inspection of the, to the Eastward. 

certain resolves of Congress respecting the, repealed. 

chief of the, to submit property returns 

Department of Purchases, . 

to be superintended by the Board of War. 

Department of the Interior, 

supervision of the Potomac waterworks transferred to the_ 

Departments {see Staff Departments; Military Departments). 
Dependent, 

No one to be deemed, who is able to find emplovment 
Depositions, 

may be taken in cases not capital. 

Depots, 


Page. 
. 562 

. 562 

. 564 

- 567 

. 569 

302, 303 

. 509 


657 

125 


of forage, where established. 170 

Quartermaster-General to establish.214 

inspection of certain quartermasters.217 

an officer of the Quartermaster’s Department to be assigned* to principal. 231, 232 

Commissary Department to be assigned to principal. 348 

of arms, etc., to be established. 580 

Depreciation, 

respecting, of continental bills of credit. 17 

De Rochefontaine, Bechet, 

appointed captain in the Corps of Engineers. 489 

to receive the brevet of major. 494 

Deserters, 

officers leaving their posts before acceptance of resignation deemed. 32, 33 

drafted men failing to report deemed. 669, 678 

expenses of arrest of, how paid. ’ 669 

1 )esertion, 

abettors of, by substitutes, how punished. 679 

Des Plaines River, III., 

respecting improvement of the. 528 

D’Estaing,-, 

mentioned. 287, 289, 642 

Destitute, 

no one to be deemed, who is able to find employment. 657 

Details, 

regulates, for service in the Adjutant-General’s Department. 81, 82 

Inspector-General’s Department. 117,118 

Judge-Advocate-General’s Department. 134, 

135,136 

Quartermaster’s Department. 233, 234 

Subsistence Department. 357, 358 

Medical Department. 439 

Pay Department. 478, 479 

Ordnance Department. 606 

Signal Corps ... .. 626, 627 

respecting, of Pennsylvania militiamen as bakers. 264 

regimental surgeons for duty in hospitals. 373, 384 

naval officers. 500 

for ambulance duty. 420 

duty as acting hospital stewards. 434 


uiiicexs .. 

519, 520, 522, 523,524,525,526, 527, 528 

soldiers. 504,514,529 

for Signal Service. 614,616, 618, 619, 620, 621 

service in Weather Bureau. 622 


Detroit, Mich., 

respecting expedition against.. 157,286 

bridge at or near. 518, 520 

Detroit, River, 

respecting construction of bridge across t he. 518,520 

tunnel under the, near Detroit, Mich. 524 

















































724 


INDEX. 


DeVillefranche, 

appointed major in the Corps of Engineers. 488 

promoted to rank of lieutenant-colonel by brevet. 495 

De Vrecoukt, -, 

appointed engineer in the service of the United States. 487 


DeWitt, Simeon, 

appointed geographer. 492 

mentioned. 1 . 484 

Dexter, David, 

appointed to act as brigade-major. 56 

Dexter, John Singer, 

appointed assistant to the Adjutant-General. 61 

mentioned. 64 

DeWormser,-, 

mentioned. 90 

Dickinson, John, 

member of committee. 537 

Diet, 

sick, to be prescribed by the Surgeon-General. 417 

Dike, 

respecting, between Keedy Island and Listons Point, Pa. 526 

Dimon, David, 

appointment of, as brigade-major confirmed.... 54 

Director {see Pay; Rations), 

and sub authorized for company of artificers. 186 

bakers. 281 

Director of Hospital {see Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage Wagons; Land), 

in Virginia appointed. 365 

authorized.. 384 

appointed. 390 

to take the oath of office. 390 

duties of. 366, 383, 384, 385, 387, 388, 390 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage. 394 

mentioned. 386, 392, 397, 399 

deputy, authorized. 392 

appointed. 394 

duties of. 392 

{See Medical committee. ) 

Director-general, 

authorized. 370 

appointed. 373,389 

duties of. 370, 371, 373, 374, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383 

mentioned. 369, 371,372 

deputy and assistant deputy authorized... 370, 377 

appointed. ’374 

duties of. 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 

, 377,378,379,380,381,383 

Director-general and chief physician, 

authorized. 333 

appointed. 364,367 

duties of. 363 

Disbursing officers. 


Discharge, 

respecting, of officers for misconduct. 12,17 

supernumerary staff officers- 14,17,46, 74, i75, 208, 379, 468, 586 

three months’ pay allow^ed officers on. 27 47 

travel allowances to officers on. 47 ’ 43 

order for, of certain staff officers recalled. 74 , 208, 413, 468 469 

of supernumerary officers in barrackmaster’s department...’ 166 

State authorities empowered to, officers in commissary department. 297 

respecting, of men in hospitals. 418 420 

drafted men. ’ 669 

minors. 674 

of artillery artificers. 563 

part of enlisted force of the Signal Corps. 622 

Diseases {see Venereal diseases). 



















































INDEX. 


725 


DismissaLvS, Page. 

Quartermaster-General empowered to make. 150,151 

of oflacers failing at examination. 212, 347,471,591 

for improper use of ambulances.. 422 

Dispatches {see Telegraphic dispatches). 

District of Columbia, 


Dlstrict Paymasters {see Pay; Forage), 

authorized. 460,461 

to give bonds. 460, 461,463 

duties of. 460, 461, 463,465 

allowance to, for paying militia. 466 

mentioned. 463 

assi.«tant, authorized. 462 

to give bonds. 463 

Districts {see Enrollment Districts). 

Divisions {see Inspectors; Military Divlsions), 

respecting staff of. 45, 75, 79,96,106,129,151,194, 203, 328, 420, 604, 633 

Iku GHTY, John, 

appointed brigade major. 62 

Douglass,-, 

mentioned. 56 

Dow, Alexander, 

promoted captain in regiment of artillery artificers. 559 

Draft, 

by whom made. 668, 670, 677 

respecting exemptions from. 672,674 

enlistments in Southern States under a, how credited. 677 

in districts may be made for double the number of men reijuired. 677 

I)rAFT ANIMALS, 

number of, limited. 228, 229 

Drafted Men, 

may furnish substitutes or i)ay commutation money. 669, 671, 679 

claims of, to exemption. 669,674 

allowed traveling pay. 669 

furnishing substitutes to receive a certificate of discharge. 670 

may enlist in the Navy. 671, 672 

allowed transportation in lieu of traveling pay. 678 

to serve on desertion of their substitutes. 680 

Dragoons {see Horses), 

uniform of light. 16 

respecting clothing for the. 330, 332, 334 

Draper, George, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 


Drawing, 

a teacher of, to be attached to Corps of Engineers. 

Drayton, Stephen, 

elected deputy quarterma.'ster-general for the Southern Department 
Drayton, William Henry, 

member of committee. 

Drew, Seth, 

to do duty of inspector. 

Drovers, 

pay of, by whom regulated. 

mentioned. 

Druggist, 

appointed. 

Drum, Richard C., 

mentioned.-. . 

Drumheads, 

sheepskins and calf skins to be saved for. 


.... 497 

.... 159 

15, 283, 457 

.... 100 

.... 262 
.... 305 


367 


52 

311,562 


Duane, James, 

member of committee 
mentioned. 


14,15, 87, 253,488 
. 102,127 


Duane, James C., 

mentioned. 

Du F>arry, Beekman, 
mentioned. 


483 

238 













































726 


INDEX. 


Du Camera Y,-, 

annexed to Corps of Engineers with rank and pay of lieutenant-colonel.. 489 

granted leave for twelve months. 494 

promoted to rank of colonel by brevet.. 495 

Duck, 

to be made up into tents. 179,181,182 

Du CouDRAY, Philip Charles Jean Baptiste Tronson, 

appointed inspector-general of ordnance and military manufactories, with 

rank of major-general. 548 

appointed inspector-general of ordnance and military stores. 87 

mentioned. 85, 87, 488, 534 

Duluth, 

respecting harbor of. 526 

Dunn, Isaac Budd, 

appointed brigade major. 56 

to act as adjutant-general pro tempore. 57 

mentioned. 57 

Du Port AIL, Louis Le Begue, 

appointed colonel of engineers. 487 

to take rank and command of all engineers heretofore appointed. 487 

appointed brigadier-general. 488 

to have rank of major-general. 494 

granted leave of absence for six months. 494 

having served with distinguished merit, has leave to retire from ser\'ice in 

the United States. 495 

mentioned.. 483, 488, 489, 490, 491 

Durant, Thomas, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk. 244 

Duval,-, 

appointed to act as brigade major. 59 

Du Veil,-, 

to be commissioned captain of sappers and miners. 491 

Dyer, Alexander B. , 

mentioned. 534 

Dyer, Eliphalet, 

member of committee. 283, 364 

Dyer, Thomas, 

to do duty as brigade major. 55 

Dunn, William McK., 

mentioned. 121 

E. 

Eagan, Charles P., 

'mentioned. 238 

Eastern Department, 

appointment in the, of officers of the department of issues.. 264, 269 

purchases. 269 

Pay Department. 446, 449 

Medical Department. 374 

supervision of medical affairs in the. 379 

Eastern States, 

respecting flour for the. 288 

magazines of ammunition to be formed in the. 545 

Eaton, Amos B., 

mentioned. 238 

Eayres, Joseph, 

excused from further service. 561 

Edmonston, Samuel, • 

promoted to rank of liospital physician and surgeon. 395 

Educational Division, 

of Bureau of JEtefugees and Freedmen continued. 661, 662 

Edwards, Thomas, 

elected judge-advocate. 127 

appointment of, announced to the Army. 127 

appointed deputy judge-advocate.. 125 

allowed additional pay.. 126 

mentioned.”” 421 















































INDEX. 


727 


Elaboratory [see Laboratory). 

Election District, 

how construed for purposes of enrollment. 

Ellery, William, 

member of committee. 

Elliott, James, 

appointed assistant geographer to the United States 

mentioned. 

Elliot and Williams (Messrs.) 

mentioned.• 

Ellsworth, Oliver, 

member of committee. 

Embargo {see Exportation), 

on provisions in North Carolina. 

general, on provisions, livestock, etc. 

continued. 

respecting exemptions from. 

Embezzlement, 


Page. 


. 676 

. 247 

. 494 

494,495 

- 328 

14 

- 280 

- 286 
- 289 

. 289 


means to prevent..i. ]49 


Emerson, Moses, ’ ’ ’ 

pay and rations allowed to, as storekeeper. 244 

Emory, Richard, 

to do duty as brigade major. 59 

Employees, 

pay of certain, in the department of issues. 244 

Engineering Department {see Corps of Engineers), 

three companies established in the. 489 

Engineer Commissioner, 

of District of Columbia may be detailed from Corps of Engineers. 524 

water department to be under the.^. 519 

Engineer of the Potomac Waterworks, 

office of, abolished; duties of, by whom performed. 507 

Engineer officers {see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

detail of. 500,501, 502, 503,504,505,506,510, 614 

allowances to, superintending public works. 503 

disbursing moneys on public works to receive no compensation therefor.. 503 

{See Topographical Engineers.) 

authorized. 496 

appointed. 486, 487, 488,489, 490,491 

authorized for the Southern Department. 485 

no longer needed to be furloughed... 23 

not subject to extra-professional duty. 498,514 

in charge of Library building to receive active pay of his grade. 526 

respecting appointment of, in authorized engineer regiments. 527 

pay of, member of deep waterways commission. 528 

Enthneer soldiers {see Sappers and miners), 

companies of, added to Corps of Engineers. 508,509 

to form a battalion. 510 

detail of, for signal duty.614, 616 


Engrossers, 

States to authorize seizure of goods, etc., in hands of. 273 

Enlisted men (s€e Pay; Clothing; Rations; Subsistence money), 

respecting purchase of articles of clothing by. 16,142 

extra pay to, detailed for quartermasters’ uses. 145 

on discharge to certain. 47 

Detail; Blankets; Venereal disease.) 

respecting issue of rum to. 310 

discharge of, in hospitals.418, 420 

enlisting for the war, to receive a suit of clothes. 247 

authorized for the Hospital Corps.. 433,434 

Ordnance Department. 583 

Signal Corps. 613,615, 617, 618, 623,625, 6^ 

uniform of, of the Ambulance Corps. 422 

{see Prisoners of war. ) 

respecting mode of payment to. 476 

issue of toVjacco to. 35 

may wear badges of corps in which they served. 36, 39, 43,48 
















































728 


INDEX. 


Enlisted men—C ontinued. 

provisions of pension laws apply to, of the staff corps. 208, 342, 413, 504, 586 

maimed, may receive artificial limbs. 425, 432 

may be detailed in Bureau of Refugees and Freed men. 657 

serving in Arctic regions entitled to commutation of (juarters. 690 

Enrolling officers, 

authorized. 668 

disabled in line of duty entitled to pensions.. 680 

Enrollment, 

boards of, how composed and their duties. 668 

of men may be made by classes. 668 

by classes repealed. 672 

men exempt from. 672 

resistance to, how punished.,. 673 

foreigners not exempt from. 674 

revised. 678 

Enrollment districts, 

how constituted. 667 

President to assign number of men to he furnished by. 668 

Entrenching tools, 

agent authorized for purchase of. 155 

to receive and care for, appointed. 157 

Envelopes, 

special, for official liusiness. 38 

E(iUIPMENTS, 

to be provided for a body of horse. 147 

the Southern army. 563 

cost of repairs or damage to, against whom charged. 580 

Erskine, Robert, 

may be appointed geographer and surveyor. 448 

mentioned.!. 484, 492 

Erwing, John, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of issues. 272 

Estimates, 

to be lodged at the war office...^. 20 

made yearly for clothing and disbursements for same. 319 

respecting, of hospital stores. 384 

ordnance and ordnance stores. 556 


Europe, 

United States agents in, to effect importation of salt. 261 

Eustis, William, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

Everson, George, 


Ewing, George, 

appointed commissary of hides. 265 

mentioned. 238 

Examination {see Medical board), 

officers under rank of brigadier-general subjeid to, before promotion. 44 

of officers of the Quartermaster’s Department. 211 

Subsistence Deiiartment. 346 

Medical Department. 419, 429, 434, 436, 437 

Pay Department. 470 

Corps of Engineers. 509,514,525 

Signal Corps. 623 

candidates for apiiointment as surgeon or mate. 368 

assistant surgeon. 411, 429 

promotion in the Hospital Department. 396 

civilians for appointment as paymasters. 477 

officers and men for signal duty... 614, 616 

persons for position of hospital steward. ’ 433 

Exchanges, 

partial or parole, disajiiiroved. (43 

respecting. 544 

when may be made. 644 

States requested to make no. 645 

rejiort of, to be made. 647 

respecting, of marine prisoners. 650 

President to make regulations for, of prisoners of war. 651 






















































INDEX. 


729 


Exkcutive Mansion, 

respecting extension of the. 

Exemption, 

States requested to grant, from militia duty in certain cases.. 

embargo. 

persons entitleii to, from draft.]. 

(daims to, from draft, how made. 

fraudulent, from drah, how punished. 

persons furnishing sulistitutes entitled to, from service 

Ex ERCISES, 

respecting system of military. 

Expedition, 

respecting proposed, against Detroit. 

Expenses, 

respecting reduction of army. 

inquiry into, of the staff departments.. 

of witnesses before courts-martial, how paid. 

for arrest of deserters, by whom ]>aid. 

Experiments, 

respecting, and tests of heavy ordnance. 

Explorations, 

for a railroad from the Mississijipi River to the Pacific Ocean 
Exportation {see Embargo), 

of salted provisions from New York forbidden. 

liroduce, etc., for arms and ammunition authorized. 

ordnance and ordnance stores forbidden 
Expresses, 

Quartermaster-General to furnish all extraordinary. 

PlxpREss rider, 

entitled to one wagon or two bathorses. 

Extortioners {see Engrossers), 

States requested to authorize seizure of clothing held by_ 

Extra pay, 

to officers of the volunteer staff when discharged. 

enlisted men of the Corps of Engineers. 

men detailed for quartermasters’ uses. 

Eysandeau, William, 

appointed to superintend the general military hospital. 


Page. 

. 528 

.• 277 

. 289 

. (572 

. (574 

. (574 

. 679 

.... 89,90,92,96 

.. 157,286 

.. 14 

.. 17 

.. 125 

.. 669 

. 593 

. 506 

. 245 

536, 537, 539, 690 
. 573 

. 189 

. 172 

. 277 

. 47 

. 512 

. 145 

. 394 


Factories (.see Gun Factories). 

Fairweather Island, Conn., 

works on, mentioned. 504 

Fanski, Ad.iutant, 

appointed to do duty as brigade-major pro tempore. 60 

Farneswortii, Joseph, 

pay and rations allowed to, as commissary. 245 

F miragut, David G., 

mentioned. 614 

Fayssoux, Peter, 

elected chief physician of the hospital. 394 

mentioned. 3(52 

Feather River, Cal., 

relative to improvement of the. 526 

Fees, 

respecting, in claims for exemption from draft. 675 

Fellows, John, 

mentioned. 55, 56 

Few, William, 

, member of committee. 326,457 

mentioned... 190, 569 

Field artillery, 

guns for, to be jiurchased. 544 

captured guns to be mounted if fit for. .544 

respecting jiurcbase of copper, etc., for casting brass. 544 

Field conductor OF military stores (see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized... '5'5(5, 560, .567 

duties of. 557,5.58 











































730 


INDEX. 


Field conductor of military stores—C ontinued. Page. 

to be appointed to each brigade. ^59 

allowed one wagon or two bathorses. 559, 568 

mentioned..-. 565 

deputy, to call on issuing commissaries for sheepskins. 565 

Finley, Clement A., 

mentioned. 362 

Finney, William, 

appointed deputy quartermaster-general. 143 

Fire, 

measures for avoidance of, in powder magazines. 566, 567 

Firearms (see Arms; Muskets), 

continental factory of, mentioned. 541 

Firelocks (6 ‘ee Muskets). 

Fish, Nicholas, 

appointed brigade major. 55 

inspector. 89 

to perform the duties of division inspector. 96 

mentioned. 96 

Fisher, Benjamin F., 

mentioned. 611 

Flag op truce, 

sending of, by whom authorized. 644 

Flagler, Daniel W., 

mentioned. 534 

Flags, 

respecting, for regiments. 143 

signal, by whom furnished. 186 

Fleet, 

a surgeon to be appointed for the, fitting out on the lakes. 567 

French, to be furnished with provisions. 287 

mentioned. 289 

Fleming, Edward, 

appointed deputy adjutant-general. 54 

Fleury, Lewis, 

appointed brigade major. 59 

attached, on the march, to General Lee’s division ...!. 60, 90 

to act as subinspector. 89 

voted a silver medal. 94 

sent as captain of engineers to General Washington. 487 

promoted lieutenant-colonel. 488 

mentioned. 94,100 

Flints, 

importation of, authorized. 538 

employment of persons to manufacture, authorized. 541 

imported, how distributed. 54.5, 546 

to be purchased. 555 

Florida, 

rations for certain inhabitants of. 541 

Flour (see Indian meal; Barrels), 

magazines of, to be established. 157 

importation of, authorized. 250, 278 

certain, to be baked into biscuits. 264 

may be issued to the troops. 267 

respecting distribution of cargoes of. 271 

to be purchased. 278, 280, 287 

respecting, for the Eastern States.-. 288 

States requested to authorize seizure of, in hands of engrossers. 287 

furnish. 303,304 

furnished by States, how paid for. 307 

part of, furnished by Maryland may be retained in the State. 310 

quotas of States to be furnished in. 306, 312, 313 

when deliverable. 314, 315, 316 

mentioned. 291 

Flour barrels (aee Barrels). 

Floaver, Benjamin, 

elected commissary of militarj^ stores for the flying camp. 542 

to purchase 200 rifles and accouterments. 547 



















































INDEX. 


731 


Flower, Benjamin—C ontinued. Page. 

mentioned. 164,538,534,550,553,554,555,559,562,564 

Flying camp, 

assistent to deputy quartermaster-general to the, appointed. 144 

medical officers appointed for the. *366 367 

deputy paymaster-general appointed for the.!!*.!!!!!!!..'. ’446 

commissary of military stores for the, appointed. 542 

deputy muster master-general for the, authorized. 633 

appointed. 632 

Flying hospital, 

senior surgeon appointed in the. 382 

Fogg, Jeremiah, 

appointed brigade-major.. 65 

continued in the office of brigaxle-major.66 

Forage {see Commissary of forage; Forage masters), 

money allowance for. 18 21 

25, 27, 28, 67, 68, 70, 71,103,104,106,108,128, Y9¥, Y9974d2V406,’407,’458 

allowance to officers of the Adjutant-General’s Department. 57, 

63,64,65, 66, 71, ISS, 189 

Inspector-General’s Department. 94, 

95, 96,102,108,188,189 

Judge-Advocate-General’s Department. 124, 

126,127,129,188,189 

Quartermaster’s Department. 151, 

188,189,191,196,198,199, 205, 206, 218, 224 
Commissary Department.. 188, 254, 296,305, 308,317 
Medical Department.. 189, 375, 388,399, 400, 408,411 

Pay Department. 188,454,456, 458, 459, 463 

Ordnance Department. 579 

muster department. 634 

department of military stores. 188, 552, 561,568 

general and other officers .... 33, 40, 41, 42, 57, 63,174,187,188,189 

commissary of prisoners. 189,647,651 

engineers. 188,189, 486 

geographer. 189,495 

provost-marshal. 188 

State clothiers. . 296 

superintendent of bakers. 318 

not allowed to officers absent exceeding six months. 32 

when commutation ot, is allowed. 33, 40 

in kind may be furnished. 38, 40, 42, 220 

allowance of, to public horses. 148,167,170,187 

to be purchased. 155 

for the horses of the French minister. 157,164 

members of Congress. 164,179 

no wheat to be purchased for. 157, 288, 290 

how obtained in emergencies. 159 

driver of public wagon entitled to. 163 

quotas of States to be furnished in. 166 

how paid for. 166,167 

how obtained for public horses. 170,175 

detained horses. 171 

magazines of, to be provided. 179 

States to be requested to furnish. 180 

issue of, to detachments of sailors or marines. 202, 223 

respecting, for officers serving east of the Mississippi River. 227 

mentioned. 176,180, 209, 213 

Forage Master General, 

to make return of all his a.ssistants .. 165 

Forage Masters {see Pay; Rations), 

authorized. 148,169,197, 206 

1)V whom apr)ointed. 156, 201 

duties of.- 148,149,170 

allowance of forage to. 107,198, 206, 224 

subject to military law. 197 

names of, to be reported to board of war. 150 

deranged in 1875, entitled to three months’ pay. 203 






















































782 


INDEX. 


Forbes, James, Page. 

member oK:oniniittee. J<>4, JOO 

Ford, Jacob, .ir., 

to maimfaeture sa]tj)eter into gnn])owder. o40 

Ford’s Theater, 

mentioned. 525 

Foreigners, 

not exempt from draft. 

Forestallers {see Engrossers), 

States requested to authorize seizure of goods, etc., lield i)y. 273 

F ORGES, 

conductors of military stores to have traveling. 559 

all, in hands of conductors of military stores, how disposed of. 568 

traveling cavalry, allowed ambulance corps of divisions. 422 

Forgue, Francis, 

elected surgeon-general of hospital in Northern Department. 374 

mentioned. 361 

Forms, 

blank, of contracts, et(’., by whom furnished. 686,687 

Fort George, N. Y., 

hospital at, reserved for contagious diseases. 368 

Fort Herkimer, N. Y., 

mentioned....... 571 

Fortifications {see Inspector of fortifications), 

armament of certain. 571,572 

to be erected at Annapolis, Md. 573 

respecting plan of necessary. 500 

construction of temporary, in cases of emergency. 526 

ports at which, are required to be reported. 520, 601 

Fort Myer, Ya., 

mentioned ... 620 

Fort Piti', N. Y., 

proper magazines to be laid up in. 324 

arms to be sent to. 546, 547 

field conductor of military stores at, authorized. 567 

Forts, 

tests of best stone, to resist heaviest guns. 511 

construction of temporary, in cases of emergency. 526 

Fosdick, Thomas, 

appointed brigade-major. 58 

Foster, Isaac, 

to take direction and superintendency of the general hospital. 364 

elected deputy director-general of hospital in Eastern Department. 374 

Foundries, 

examination to be made of certain. 544 

respecting erection of a, for brass ordnance. 551 

artillery artificer employed in. 552 

to be visited when thought necessarj". 557 

Secretary of War to direct building and management of... 565 

respecting establishment of. 574 

manufacture of iron cannon at, how superintended. 586 

France, 

commissioners in, to forward uniforms, blankets, etc. 251, 252 

disposition of clothing shipped from. 322 

arms and military stores shipped from. 565 

Franking privilege, 

conferred on heads of bureaus; franked matter may be conveyed without 

indorsement or name of writer./.. 34, 38 

exercised only by written autograph signatures. 36^ 38 

to whom specifically granted.... 73, ill, 205, 340, 465 

abolished... 38, 681 

“Franklin” (armed schooner), ’ 

mentioned... . 541 

Franklin, Ben.tamin, 

member of committee. 239, 5.35, 536, 537 

mentioned.•..’ 488 

Frazer, John Gizzage, 

appointed assistant to the Quartermaster-General. 141 
















































INDEX. 


733 


Frazer, Persifor, 

elected Clothier-General. 

declined." 

mentioned. 

Freedmen, 

provisions may be issued to destitute. 

tracts of land for use of loyal. 

all loyal, under care of Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen 

measures in aid of. 

certain buildings constructed for, mav be sold." 

mentioned. 

Freedmen’ s hospitals, 

to be continued at designated points. 

French, Samuel, 


Page. 

. 297 

. 297 

238, 297 

655 

656 
656 

. 658 

. 662 
. 67i 

- 662 


commissioned major, commissary of military stores with the army. 550 

mentioned.*. 533 

French army, 

barrack master appointed to the. 181 

French language, 

teacher of the, authorized. 497 

French squadron {see Fleet). 

Freight chairjes, 

ordnance appropriations not to l)e used to pay..*. 807 

Frontiers, 

ration increased for men serving on tlie. 329, 330 

Frost, George, 

mendier of committee. 254 

Frothing HAM, Richard, 

appointment of, as held commissai-y of military stores, couHrmed. 568 

mentioned. 534 

Fry, James B., 

mentioned. 665 

Fuel, 

officers absent exceeding six months not entitled to. 32 

may be furnished. 38, 40, 41, 220 

allowance of, or commutation for, prohibited. 41 

to be issued to the troops. 143 

who entitled to draw.1. 183, 220 

in kind only to storekeepers in Quartermaster’s Department. 208 

respecting, for hospitals. 376 

issues of, to destitute refugees and freedmen. 655 

mentioned. 37, 209, 213, 643 

Funds {see Bounty fund; Contingent fund), 

respecting, for the Southern Department. 158 

Department of Military Stores. 551, 557 

guards for safe conveyance of. 184 


Furlough, 

officers on, not entitled to pay or forage beyond time granted. 18 

no longer needed may be granted. 23 

of the Hospital Department on, not entitled to pay, etc. 388, 400 


Furman, Moore, 

mentioned. 

Furnace, 

respecting enlargement of the, at Salisbury. 543 

Fusees {see INIuskets). 


G. 


Gadsden, Christopher, 

member of committee. 

Gadsden, James^ 

mentioned. . 

Gales, Thomas, 

mentioned. 

Galvan,-, 

to be commissioned a major and employed as inspector- 

appointed division inspector.- • 

authority for employment of, in the inspectorship repealed 
Gambier, Admiral, 

mentioned.. 


239, 536 
. 52,86 
. 121 
95 

. 100 
. 102 

.. 642 















































734 


INDEX. 


Gamble, James, 

appointed deputy commissary-general. J16 

Garafdeau, John Bohun, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of issues. 265 

Gardens, 

vegetable, to be kept in hospital grounds. 250, 368 

establishment of regimental, recommended. 326 

Gardner, Charles K., 

mentioned. 52, 86 

Garrison equipage, 

Quartermaster-General to receive and distribute all. 204, 340 

Gates, Horatio, 

authorized to dismiss supernumerary staff officers in his command. 14 

to appoint necessary staff officers for the Southern army. 17 

chosen adjutant-general with rank of brigadier-general. 53 

appointment announcea to the Army. 53 

Congress desire that he resume the office of adjutant-general. 57 

authorized to appoint a deputy adjutant-general for Northern Department. 57 

apjiointment by, of a deputy adjutant-general, confirmed, if made. 58 

authorized to appoint a deputy adjutant-general for the Southern army .. 62 

appointment of a deputy judge-advocate by, confirmed, if made. 124 

authorized to appoint a deputy pavmaster-general for the Southern armv. 454 

mentioned. 3,14, 51, 57,59, 60, 61,-90,175,183, 248, 269, 272, 448, 542^ 543, 648 

General officers {s^ee Rations; Forage; Lands), 

uniform of. 18 

allowed a 4-horse baggage wagon. 172 

General Regulations {see Regulations), 

to be prepared defining duties of the general staff... 27 

Geographers (see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized .. 488 

appointed. 492,493 

to main army styled “Geographer of the United States of America”. 493 

' for main and Southern armies allowed one baggage wagon. 495 

assistant, appointed. 494 

mentioned. 495 

George HI, 

mentioned. 12 

Georgetown, D. C., 

mentioned.511 

Georgia, 

uniform of the, line. 15 

agent in, authorized for supplying clothing. 264 

appointment of certain staff officers in, authorized_ 124,152, 264, 448,451, 635 


arms for the defense of. 558 


Gerard,- (French Minister), 

to be furnished horses and forage. 

mentioned.] ” [ 

Gerry, Elbrige, 

member of committee. 

Gibson, George, 

mentioned. 

Gibson, James, 

commissioned first lieutenant of artillerv artificers. 

Gilliland, James, 

to be commissioned captain-lieutenant of sappers and miners 

promoted to rank of captain. 

Gilman, John Taylor, 

member of committee. 

mentioned.1.!! ] ] 

Gilman, Nicholas, 

appointed assistant to the Adjutant-General. 

Girardeau, T. B., 

resigned. 

Glover, John, 

mentioned.. 

Goddard, John, 

appointed wagon master general. 


.... 157 

.... 489 

14, 253, 283 

140,238 

... - 549 

.... 491 

-... 493 

326,457 
.. 190,569 

61 

... - 291 

.... 58,89 
.... 141 













































INDEX. 


735 


Godfrey, Will. E., 

commissioned captain-lieutenant of artillery. 

excused from further service. 

Goodwin, Wilson, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgeon. 

Gostelow, Jonathan, 

commissioned major, commissary of military stores.. 

mentioned. 

Gould, David, 

mentioned. 

Government Printing Office, 

building for the, to be constructed by Chief of Engineers.. 
Grade, 

of captain in Adjutant-General’s Department abolished... 
Graduates, 

respecting appointment of, of dental colleges. 

Grain, 

cargoes of, to be provided for army in Eastern Department 

respecting, in hands of engrossers. 

Grant, Ulysses S., 

mentioned. 

Gratiot, Charles, 

mentioned.. 


Page. 

. 549 

. 561 

. 395 

. 549 

. 534 

. 391 

526, 528 

76 

. 438 

. 271 

158, 289 

5 

.. 483 


Graves (see Headstones). 

Gray, Ebenezer, 

appointed brigade-major_,. 55 

Gray, James, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of issues. 290 

mentioned. 316 

Gray, Samuel, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk and magazine keeper. 244 

Gray, Samuel, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of issues for Eastern Department.. 265 

Great Kanawha River, West Virginia, 

respecting construction of bridge across the. 522 

Greely, Adolphus W., 

mentioned. 611 

Green and Barren River Navigation (’ompany, 

mentioned. 521 

Green, Griffin, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk. 244 

Greene, Nathaniel, 

appointed Quartermaster-General. 156 

to retain his rank as major-general in the Army. 156 

continued in office of Quartermaster-General. 175 

to furnish his successor with complete returns of all officers and property 

of the Quartermaster’s Department. 176,177 


Gridley, Richard, 

conditionally continued chief engineer in the army at Cambridge. 485 

to be considered as a retiring officer after .January 1, 1781 . 492 

mentioped. 483, 492,545, 563 

Griffin, Samuel, 

elected deputy adjutant-general. 55 

Grosvenor, Thomas, 

appointed to the duty of deputy adjutant-general. 64 

subinspector. 94 


Guam, 

respecting improvement of a harbor at. 

Guards, 

to be provided for safe conveyance of money 

respecting, at hospitals. 

Gulf coast, 

relative to erection of gun factories on the .. 


528 

184 

371 


524 


Gun factories, 

respecting erection of. ^24, bOL 

Gunlock factory, 

at Trenton, N. J., mentioned. ^H1 








































736 


INDEX. 


Gunpowder, ' 

respecting exchange of, for deerskins. 

importation of. 536, 539 

amount of public, to be reported.-. 536 

inspectors of, authorized. 542 

appointed.- 542 

respecting, for use in proving cannon. 540, 543 

imported, how disposed of. 546 

])urchase of, authorized. 547, 555 

to be furnished to the Southern army. 563 

exportation of, forbidden. 573 

imported, to be free of duty. 573 

Guns Muskets; Cannon; Ordnance), 

relative to tests of best stone forts to resist heaviest. 511 

disposition of imported. 565 

breech-loading, to be contracted for. 602 

imported, to be free of duty. . 604 

mentioned. 602, 604 

Gunsmiths, 

colonies requested to set their, at work making muskets. 537, 543 

Gusdon, Peter, 

appointed brigade major. 55 

II. 

Hagan, Francis, 

appointed senior surgeon in the generariiospital. 383 

hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

mentioned.'. 395 

Haite, Nicholas, 

mentioned. 548 

Half pay, 

granted to officers serving during the war. 13,15, 380, 390, 391 

extended to continue for life. 453 

widows of officers... 19, 24, 25, 26 

five years’ full pay offered in lieu of... 22 

lists of officers accepting, or commutation to be furnished their States_ 23 

for wounds or disability. 25 

officers accepting commutation of, mentioned... 66,495 

to officers of the Medical Department, how calculated. 401 

Hall, C., 

to superintend hospital at Brunswick. 380 

mentioned. 380 

Hall,-, 


Halsted, John, 

appointment of, as commissary for army liefore Quebec, confirmed. 243 

Hamilton, Alexander, 

mentioned. 86 

Hammond, William A., 

mentioned. ;162 

Hancock, Ebenezer, 

Elected deputy paymaster-general for the Eastern Department. 446 

mentioned. 449 

Hancock, John, 

mentioned. 54 

Hand, Edward, 

elected Adjutant-General. 64 

continued in the office of Adjutant-General. 65 

mentioned. 51,62,95,283 

Harbors, 

along water front of Wasliington and Georgetown to be examined. 511 

{See Ice harbor.) 

improvement of, at Kewaunee, Wis. 519 

prveysof. 519,522 

improvement of, at St. Augustine and Key West. 522 

deep-water, between Points Duma and Capistrans. 524 

















































INDEX. 


737 


H AKBORS—Continued. 

of refuge at Port Orford, Greg. 

inspection of safe deep, on coast of TexaL’ 
deep-water, on the California coast 

of Superior and Duluth. .. 

improvement of a, at Guam* 
emergency appropriations for, how expended 
Hard bread, .. 

effectual measures to be taken for supplvint*' 

Hardman, Henry, ‘ .. 

appointed brigade major. 

mentioned.] ]. 

Hardy, William, .. 

elected paymaster for the North Carolina Light Horse 
Harmar, Josiaii, 

appointed subinspector. 

Harness, 

North Carolina requested to jiurchase leather and deerskins for 
Harper, John, 

to do the duty of brigade major. 

Harpers Ferry, Va., 

pav of superintendent of the armory at. 

office of superintendent of armory at, abolished.] ] ”' 

Harrison, Benjamin, Jr,, 

elected paymaster for troops in Virginia. 

Harrison, Kobert, 

appointed to muster Colonel Richardson’s battalion. 

Hartley, Thomas, 

mentioned.... 

Harvie, John, 

mentioned. 

Haskell, PIlnathon, 

appointed to act as brigade major. 

Haskell, Jonathan, 

mentioned. 

Hats, 

importation of, authorized. 

returns to be made of men who have not received. 

not to be purchased until old stock is exhausted. 

Hawaiian Islands, 

actual expenses only allowed for travel to and from the. 

pay of officers serving in the, increased. 

Hawkins, John P., 

mentioned. 

Hay, 

quotas of States to be furnished in. 

how paid for. 


I^ige. 

524 

525 

525 

526 
528 
528 

821 


62 

62 

448 

94 

153 


58 

581,584 
. 585 

- 446 


684 


59 


282 

59 

51,86 


263 

826 

222 

46 

47 

288 

166 

166 


ration of, for horses. 170 

mentioned.^. 167 

Hay, Udney, 

appointed brevet lieutenant-colonel and assistant deputy quartermaster- 

general . 147 

not entitled to office or rank conferred under former arrangement of the 

Quartermaster’s Department. 156 

Hays, Stock ley D., 

mentioned.t.. 121 

Hazen, Moses, 

mentioned..v-. 61, 65, 66, 95 

Hazen, Willia.m B., 

mentioned. 611 


Headstones, 

in national cemeteries, how marked.... 

authorized in private, village, or city cemeteries 
Heard, Nathaniel, 

mentioned. 

Heath, William, 

mentioned. 


219, 221, 226 
. 227 


. 55 

53,56, 64,154,642 


S. Doc. 229-47 











































738 


INDEX. 


Henderson, Alexander, 

commissioned captain deputy commissary of military stores.-.. 

resigned. 

Henley, David, 

appointed brigade major. 

to do duty as brigade major. 

appointed deputy adjutant-general.-. 

mentioned. . 

Hennepin Canal, 

mentioned. 

Henry,-, 

mentioned. 

Henry, Patrick, 

member of committee. 

mentioned. 

Henry, William, 

appointment of, as public armorer condmied. 

HERKINS, William, 

pay and rations allowed to. 

Herriott, William, 

appointment of, as clerk in department of military stores confirmed 


Page. 

.. 550 

.. 559 

. 53 

. 55 

. 56 

. 56 

. 521 

. 648 

... 239,536 
286, 298, 555 

. 554 

. 245 

. 568 


Hewes, Joseph, 

member of committee. 239, 247, 536,540 

Heyward, Thomas, Jr., 

member of committee. 87, 365, 488 

Hickman, Ky., 

respecting location of bridge across jMississippi River at.. 522 

Hicks, Benjamin, 

continued in the office of brigade major..’. 65 

Hides, 

care and treatment of. 249, 261 

raw, may be exchanged for tanned leather. 263 

respecting transportation of raw or unmanufactured. 102 

issue of raw, for moccasins... 270 

regulations to be made for department of. 285 

to whom delivered. 291, 547 

how credited. 307 

returns of, to whom made. 321 

dried, to be imported. 547 

Hiltzheimer, Jacob, 

to provide for horses belonging to members of Congress. 164 

mentioned. 179 

Hitchcock, Lyman, * 

to do duty as brigade major. 59 

Hodgdon, Samuel, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of military stores. 559 

pay of... 559 

elected commissary-general of military stores. 565 

continued in that office. 568 

mentioned. 140,534 

Hoff, John, 

appointment of, as clerk in department of military stores c*nntirmed. 568 

Hoffman, Valentine, 

commissioned captain-lieutenant of artillery artificers. 549 

IIoLABiRD, Samuel B., 

mentioned.•. 140 

Hollingsworth, Henry, 

suspended. 175 

mentioned. 175 

Holt, Joseph, 

mentioned. 121 


Homes {see Soldiers’ Home; National Homes for Disabled Volunteers). 
Hoops, Robert, 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues. 

mentioned. 

Hopkins, Gerard, 

appointed deputy quartermaster. 


264 

265 

147 













































INDEX. 


739 


Hopkins, Jared, p 

mentioned. , j-A 

Hopkins, Mark, . 

appointed brij^ade inaior.. * kk 

Hopkins, S., . 

mentioned. . . 

Hopkins, Stephen, 

member of committee. 239, 536,538, 540 

Horns, ’ ’ ’ 

of cattle killed to be made into powder horns. 142 242 538 

whom delivered._ ’ 291 

Horse equipage Equipments). 

Horse litters {see Liiters). 

Honps {see Batiiorses; Saddle horses; Forage) , 

impressment of, authorized. 142 

to be avoided as much as possilile. 146 

number of, in public stables to be reported. 147 

purchase of, how made.!!!!!!! 150 

of members of Congress to be cared for. 156,164,179 

authorized for use of French minister.’ 157 

respecting pay for, killed in action. M, 16, i9,’2i,’24,157 

wounded or captured. 21 

payment of expenses of, of general officers. 11 

cavalry, to be procured. 180 

dragoon, to be sold. 190 

number of draft, limited. . 228 

mentioned. 145,146,150,152,155,157,167,171, i79,180, 202, 387 

Horse teams, 

respecting substitution of ox teams for. 158 

Horse yard, 

orders on, by whom given. 171 

Horton, Azariah, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of musters. 635 

Hospital chaplains, 

entitled to draw clothing. 381 

authorized at each permanent hospital. 418 

to be afforded necessary facilities. 429 

Hospital commissaries, 

and assistants entitleil to draw clothing. 381 

respecting orders from, for rations. 382 

Hospital Corps, 

how constituted. 433, 434 

Hospital Department {see Medical Department; Subsistence money; For¬ 
age), 

officers of the, entitled to benefits from Yorktown capitulation. 19 

to be furnished transportation for removal of sick and wounded. 179 

appointment of officers in the. 373, 374, 389, 390, 393, 394, 398 

respecting use of wagons annexed to the. 376 

regulations for the. 377,384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 392, 393, 396, 397, 404, 405 

resolves of Congress relating to the, to be arranged. 382 

officers of the, entitled to draw clothing. 311 

not to be concerned in trade. 388 

to take the oath of office. 390 

vacancies in the, how filled. 605 

chief of, to transmit returns of property. 401 

Hospital Director {see Director-General). 

Hospital PHYSICIANS Pay; Forage; Land), 

authorized.684, 392 

appointment of. 689, 694, 395 

duties of. 685, 386, 387, 389 

vacancies of, how filled. 695 

Hospitals {see Blankets; Gardens; Enlisted men; Wagons Flying Hos¬ 
pital), 

allowance for cutting wood for use of. 100 

clothing to be issued to convalescents in ... . 278 

respecting charges for treatment of secret diseases in. 12, 676 

establishment of. 666 , 665, 668 , 375, 383, 391,405, 648 

respecting issue of provisions for. 267, 306, 376 


















































740 


INDEX. 


Hospitals— Continued. . >. . 

medicines to be provided for. 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 369 

antiscorbutics to be provided for use of the. 368 

at Fort George for treatment of contagious diseases.-. 368 

respecting inspections of.-. 101, 420 

appointment of officers for duty in, authorized. 363, 

368, 370, 371, 373, 374, 375, 377, 384,404,409 
officers appointed for duty in.... 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 378, 389, 390, 392, 395, 398 

certain, to be visited. 374,376 

respecting assignment of officers of the. 380 

erection of stoves in... 376 

female nurses in, authorized. 416, 430 

respecting diet for the sick in. 417, 429, 430 

{See Providence Hospital; Columbia Hospital; Freedmen’s Hospital, 

Hot Springs, Ark.) 

modern military, to be erected at Fort Leavenworth. 437 

noncombatants may be assigned to duty in. 674 

mentioned. 417, 423 

Hospital stewards {see Pay; Rations; Subsistence money; Clothing; For¬ 
age), 

authorized .... 371, 384, 387, 392,404, 407,409, 414, 417, 424,427, 429, 430, 433, 438 

duties of. 396 

how appointed. 396, 404, 414, 424, 427, 430, 433 

to take the oath of office. 390 

in service one year entitled to clothing. 381 

number of, reduced. 436 

reduction of number of, suspended. 437 

mentioned. 386, 389,410 

Hospital stores, 

estimates of, to be submitted. 384 

respecting transportation of. 387 

in Virginia. 391 

Hospital surgeons {see Hospital physicians; Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized. 404,409 

how appointed .•.. 397, 404, 407 

duties of. 408 

rank of, regulated. 399 

authorized to be retained. 409 

mentioned. 373,398,407,410 

Hospital surgeon’s mates Pay; Rations; Subsistence money), 

authorized... 364, 365, 370, 371, 384, 404, 407, 409 

how appointed... 368,396 

duties of.... 386, 398, 408 

no appointments of, to be made to fill vacancies. 395 

mentioned. 366,372,386,395,410 

Hostlers {see Pay; Rations), 

allowed to hospitals. 371 

Hot Springs, Ark., 

an army and navy hospital to be erected at. 432 

How, Baxter, 

mentioned.'.. 183 

Howard, John E., 

member of committee. 326,457 

mentioned. 190,569 

Howard, Oliver O., 

mentioned. 653 

Howe, Robert, 

mentioned. 124, 291 

Howe, William, 

mentioned. 643 ■ 

Howell, Jr., Joseph, 

mentioned. 443 

Howell, Richard, 

appointed brigade major. 56 

elected judge-a*dvocate. 127 

mentioned. 121,127 

Howitzers, 

to be contracted for. 545 

















































INDEX. 741 

HoWLEY, RiCnARD, Page. 

mentioned. 5 g 5 

Hudson, Jonathan, 

elected paymaster in Baltimore. 447 

excused therefrom by Congress.]. 449 

Hudson River, N. Y., 

respecting supplies for army on or near the. 281 

hospital to be established for the army on the. 368 

respecting obstructions in the. 524 

mentioned.] ” ] 379 

Hughes, Messrs. Daniel and Samuel, 

contract to be made with, for 1,000 tons of cannon. 542 

Hughes, Daniel, 

mentioned. 554 

Hughes, Hugh, 

appointed assistant quartermaster-general. 143 

Hughes, Samuel, 

mentioned. 554 

Huling, John, 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 

Hull, William, 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 

Hu.mphreys, Andrew A., 

mentioned. 483 

Humphreys, Charles, 

member of committee. 540 

Humphreys, Whitehead, 

mentioned. 550 

Huntingdon, Samuel, 

member of committee. 539 , 540 

mentioned. 145 

H UNTINGTON, EbENEZER, 

to assist the Adjutant-General. 56 

H UNTINGTON, JEDEDIAH, 

mentioned. 58, 60 

Hutchins, Thomas, 

appointed geographer to the Southern Army. 493 

mentioned. 484, 495 

Huts, 

respecting erection of, for the troops. 154 

Hyrne, Edmund, 

elected deputy adjutant-general for the Southern Department. 61 

I. 

Ice harbor, 

relative to, at St. Louis, Mo. 519 

Illinois and Michigan Canal, 

mentioned. 519,521 

Illinois River, 

respecting improvement of the_ j. 528 

Illinois Territory, 

respecting pay of the general staff of, while in service. 465 

Imbret, Jean Louis, 

to be employed as engineer. 487 

Importation, 

respecting, of provisions. 250, 278 

clothing. 251, 263 

salt. 261,271 

hides. 263,547 

arms, etc. 536, 537,539, 541,543, 573 

lead, flints, and tin. 538 

Impressment, 

respecting, of carriages, horses, etc. 142, 270 

provisions. 155,158, 268, 277, 289 

goods, etc., in Philadelphia. 159,290 

articles of clothing. 268, 275 

wagons, shallops, etc. 270 

of carriages and horses to be avoided as much as possible. 146 











































742 


INDEX. 


Indianapolis, Ind., ^ 

an arsenal to be established at. 591 

Indianapolis Arsenal, 

mentioned. 524 

Indian corn, 

to be purchased.-. 251 

exportation of, prohibited. 286 

quotas of States to be furnished in. 166, 303 

how paid for. 166 

Indian depredations, 

rations to be furnished Floridian suffers from. 341 

Indian frontiers. {See Telegraph lines. ) 

Indian meal, 

to be issued in lieu of flour to prisoners of war. 300, 645 

received from States in lieu of flour. 316 

respecting transportation of. 279 

Indians, 

rations may be issued to, visiting posts. 341, 687 

Infantry {see Light infantry), 

uniform of the. 21 

respecting supernumerary junior lieutenants of. 455, 650 

Ingalls, Rufus, 

mentioned. 140 

Inglis,-, 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 

Innis, James, 

elected judge-advocate. 126 

mentioned. 121,127 

Innoculation, 

to be discontinued. 393 

Inspection, 

of magazines of provisions. 87, 253 

plan of. 90,100 

Secretary of War to report most eligible plan of. 103 

of vessels for Quartermaster’s Department, by whom made. 216 

respecting, of unserviceable stores. Ill 

the Quartermaster’s Department. 217 

Subsistence Department. 348 

arms before issue. 539 

drafted men. 669 

Inspector of cattle, 

authorized. 288, 325 

duties of. 288 

Inspector of contracts, 

authorized. 185, 323, 398,566 

appointed. 103,324 

to take the oath of office. 323 


Inspector-General Qee Rank; Pay; Forage; Baggage avagons; Bathorses), 

authorized... 92, 96,100,105,106,110,112,116 

appointed.*.. 88,89 

duties of. 87, 88,90, 91,92, 93, 96, 97, 98,100,101,113,114,115,183, 322 

to receive the journals of Congress. 99 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage. 109, 111 

how selected. 109 

{see Adjutant and Inspector-General. ) 

of ordnance, etc., appointed. 87, 548 

of cavalry appointed. 87 

{see Medical Inspector-General.) 

office of one, abolished. Ill 

abolition of office of one, repealed. Ill 

volunteer, may be continued in service. 117 

mentioned. 111,311 

assistant authorized. 63, 96,105,112, 397, 565 

duties of. 63,97, 98,100,101 

may be performed by assistant adjutants-general. Ill 

to perform duties of adjutants-general. 63, 97,105 

not to lose rank—the line. 108 

to be taken from the line. 109 





















































INDEX. 


743 


Inspector-General—C ontinued. Page. 

assistant to be attached to each army corps. 112 116 

deputy, authorized.106,’ 109 

ei-otiicio deputy adjutant-general. 69' 107 

assistant, authorized. ’ 109 

Inspector-General’s Department, 

how constituted. 89,100,109,113,114,115,117 

necessary books and paper to be furnished the. 179 

mustering duty to be performed by officers of the. 95 

no appointments or promotions to* be made in the. 112 

aijpointmente in the, how made.. 115 

vacancies in the, how tilled. il6,117,118 

respecting details for duty in the.!.’ II7’ 118 

Inspectors {see Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage wagons; Bathorses), 

authorized. 89,96,100,103,104,106 

how appointed. 90, 96,105,106 

appointed. 90,92,94,95,96,100,103 

duties of. 63, 90, 91,92,93,97,98,100,101,102 

to act as adjutants-general. 60, 63, 66, 67,90,104 

of a separate army, allowed an assistant. 102 

letters to and from the, of the Army free of postage. 108 

{see Medical Inspectors. ) 

to perform duties of mustering officers.v. 636 

of public property, punishable for neglect of duty, etc. 215 

office of, discontinued. 103 

assistant, authorized. 105,106,108 

to be deputy adjutants-general. 105 

retain place in the line. 106,108 

subassistant, authorized. 93,96,108 

how appointed. 96 

appointed. 89, 94, 95, 99 

duties of. 63,97,98 

of fortifications. 496 

light-houses. 505 

gunpowder. 542 

pay of, of ordnance. 585 

Intrenching tools, 

measures to prevent loss of.-. 149 

agent appointed for care of all. 157 

Invalids {see Retired list), 

disabled officers to be placed on lists of. 24, 25 

surgeon appointed to regiment of. 590 

Inventions {see Patents), 

l)oard to examine all, in heavy ordnance, etc. 519 

no expenditure allowed for perfecting, by officers of the Army. 594 

Invoices, 

respecting, of imported clothing. -^53 

goods, etc., taken from Philadelphia. 287 

Irish, Nathaniel, 

commissioned captain of artillery artificers. ^>49 

conduct of experiments in testing. 

Iron Company Canal, 

mentioned.. 

Iron works {see Salisbury iron works; Andover iron works). 

Irvine, Callender, 

mentioned.-. 

Irwin, ]Matthew, _ 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues. 

declined appointment. j54 

mentioned. 

Issues * 

of’ quartermaster stores to members of Congress discontinued. 166, 306 

respecting, of arms and military stores in camp. 559 

Isthmus of Darien, 

mentioned... 

Isthmus of Panama, 

respecting investigation of the. 





















































744 


INDEX. 


J. 

Jackets, 

uniform, not to l)e purchased until old stock is exhausted. 222 

Jackson,-, 

mentioned. 125 

Jackson, David, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

mentioned. 395 

James, Thomas, 

mentioned. '^"13 

Jay, John, 

member of committee. 364 

Jenifer, D., of St. Thomas, 

member of committee.. 164, 299 

Jenifer, Daniel, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgeon. 395 

Jervais, John Lewis, 

appointed deputy paymaster of South Carolina. 452 

mentioned. 452 

Jesup, Thomas S., 

mentioned. 140 

Johnson, Francis, 

elected commissary of prisoners. 641 

mentioned..— 637, 641 

Johnson, Robert, 

elected hospital physician. 394 

to do the duty of purveyor for military hospital in the Southern depart¬ 
ment .. 395 

Johnson, Thomas, 

member of committee. 2S9, 246, 367, 535,536 

Johnson, Thomas, 

requested to have military stores at Annapolis removed to Frederick and 

those at Baltimore to Carlisle. 546 

Johnson, William, 

to do duty as brigade-major. 57 

Johnston, Joseph F., 

mentioned. 140 

Johonot, William, 

elected assistant a})othecary. 389 

Jones, Roger, , 

allowed pavof liis commission as Adjutant-General from 1821 to March 7, 

1825.../.. 75 

mentioned. 52 

Jones, Roger, 

mentioned. 86 

Jones, Thomas, 

sheepskins for use of artillery to be delivered on application to. 322, 565 

Jones, Walter, 

elected physician-general of hospital in Middle Department. 373 

declined appointment. 375 

mentioned. 361, 375 

Jordan, John, 

commissioned captain-lieutenant of artillery artificers. 549 

promoted captain. 554 

mentioned. 563 

Journals of Congress, 

to be furnished the Adjutant-General. 63 

Inspector-General. 99 

respecting extracts from the, relative to commissary and clothiers’ depart¬ 
ments ..*. 286 

Judge-Advocates {see Pay; Rank; Rations; Forage), 


appointed. 123,124,125 127 

to countersign copies of Articles of War. 123 

prosecute in the name of the United States. 123,128 

appointment of, announced to the Army..-. 123,127 

(*S'eg Depositions; Writs; Witnesses.) 

how appointed. 134 










































INDEX. 


745 


J udge-Advocates—C ontinued. Page. 

• duties of. 125,128,129,130,132,133,134 

entitled to one wagon or two bathorses. 126,127,187 

deputy, how^ appointed. 127 

number of, limited. 132 

{See Shirts; Linen.) 

corps of, merged into Judge-Advoeate-Generars Department. 133 

authorized on staff of army corps... 134 

continued in service... 135 

acting, may be detailed. 1,35,136 

status of, as to tenure of office. 131 

mentioned. 129,131,134 

JUDGE-Advocate’s Department, 

resolves of Congress relative to the, repealed. 127 

Judge-Advocate-General (see Rank; Pay; Baggage wagons; Bathorses), 

authorized. 130,131,132,133 

duties of. 123,130,131,132,133 

(see Bureau of ^Military Justice.) 

ex-officio commissioner of the Soldiers’ Home. 133 

mentioned. 124,132 

assistant, authorized. 131 

deputy, appointed. 124 

Jury duty, 

workmen in armories exempted from. 576 

Judge-Advocate-General’s Department, 

how constituted. 133,134,135 

promotions in the, how made..... 134 

respecting chief of the. 136 

chief of the, how selected. 136 

vacancies in the, how filled. 136 


K. 


Kelton, John C., 

mentioned. 

Kemper, -, 

mentioned. 

Kermovan, John, 

appointed engineer to the Continental service. 

Kettles, 

to be procured. 

sent to Southern Army. 

incased. 

supplied to soldiers without cost. 

Kewaunee, Wis., 

improvement of harbor at. 

Key West, Fla., 

improvement of harbor at. 

Kirby, E., 

mentioned... 

Kirkpatrick,-, 

appointed captain-lieutenant in the corps of sappers and miners 
Klein, David, 

appointed deputy commissary of prisoners. 

Knox, Henry, 

mentioned. 

KoSCIUSZKO, ThADDEUS, , tt • J c 

appointed engineer in the service of United States. 


52 

292 


486 

145 

318 

180 

687 

519 


522 


. 52 

. 493 

. 641 

57, 549,559,568 
. 487 


K. 

Laboratory, 

establishment of.- 

Secretary of War to direct building and management of 

mentioned. 

Laboratory artillerymen, 

respecting company of. 

Laborers, ^ xi • ^ 

necessary, in Quartermaster’s Department authorized.. 

by whom appointed. 


_ 545, 547,562 

. 565 

548,557, 564,565 


550 


167,198, 201 
... 169,198 















































746 


INDEX. 


Laborers—C ontinued. 

occasional, authorized in hospital department. 363,369 

in Ordnance Department authorized. 579,596 

status respecting bounty laws, etc. 586 

to be designated privates of the second class.. 591, 596 

La Crosse, Wis., 

construction of a bridge at, across the Mississippi River. 512 

Lake Erie, 

bridging channel between, and Lake Huron. 512 

canal route from, to the Ohio River.. 526 

Lake George, N. Y,, 

mentioned. 366 

Lake Huron, 

relative to bridging channel between, and Lake Erie. 512 

Lake Michigan, 

mentioned. 521 

Lakes, 

respecting supply of army on the. 246 

storm signals on the northern. 614 

surgeon appointed for fleet fitting out on the. 367 

sites for light-houses, etc., on the northwestern, to be determined by the 

Topographical Bureau. 505 

deep waterways between the Great, and the Atlantic. 526 

Lake Samamish, 

mentioned. 524 

Lake Superior Ship Canal Railway, 

mentioned. 521 

Lake Union, 

mentioned. 524 

Lake Washington, 

mentioned. 524 

Lancaster, Pa., 

factory of firearms at, mentioned. 541 

respecting escape of prisoners of war at. 650 

Landings, 

along water front of Washington and Georgetown to be examined. 511 

Lands, 

grant of, for service in Revolutionary war. 11, 389 

not granted to claimants under an assignment. 11 

provisions granting, extended to general officers. 19 

officers of hospital department. 389 

assignment of tracts of, to refugees or freedmen. 656, 657 

respecting, held by the late Confederate States. 658 

Langdon, John, 

member of committee. 239, 240, 536, 537 


Lanterns, 

style of, for use in powder magazines. 567 

Larned, Benjamin F., 

mentioned. 443 

Latimer, Henry, 

appointed senior surgeon in the flying hospital. 382 

hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

Laurens, John, 

member of committee. 14,15 

mentioned. 322, 565‘ 

Lawrence, Jonathan, 

appointed captain in the corps of sappers and miners. 493 

Lawrence, John, 

appointed judge-advocate. 124 

pay and allowances of, established. 124 

resignation accepted. 126 

mentioned. 121,126 

Lawson, John, 

to do duty as brigade-major. 59 

Laavson, Thomas, 

mentioned. 362 












































INDEX. 


747 


Lead, 

inquiry to be made respecting virgin and lead ores. 

importation of, authorized...”' 

imported, how disposed of.:. 

to be furnished the Southern army. !!!!!!!' 

exportation of, prohibited. 

imported, to be free of duty. 

surplus pig, to be sold_. 

Leaden spouts, 

in Philadelphia, to be taken down for laboratory. 

Lead mines, 

respecting, at New Canaan, N. Y. 

in Maryland. 

Colonies requested" to report condition of. 

in State of New York to be worked. 

jirisoners of war may be furnished for work in New York. 

Learned, Ebenezer, 

mentioned. 

Leases, 

respecting, of lands in the Southern States. 

Leather {see Hides; Deerskins), 

purchase of, authorized. 

raw hides may be exchanged for. 

mentioned. 

Leather manufactory, 

mentioned. 

Leave of absence, 

respecting officers on, exceeding six months. 

granted extra territorially, when to commence and terminate. .. 
officers of Hospital Department on, not entitled to rations, etc.. 

on, to receive only half pay if not sick or wounded. 

nurses may be granted. 

length of, without reduction of pay. 

Le Baron, Francis, 

mentioned... 

Ledyard, Isaac, 

elected assistant })urveyor. 

Lee, Charles, 

mentioned. 

Lee, Francis Lightfoot, 

member of committee. 

Lee, John F., 

mentioned.-. 

Lee, Richard Henry, 

member of committee. 

Lee, William, 

recommended by Congress for appointment of Adjutant-General 
Lee, William R., 

to do duty as br-igade-major. 

“Le Fier Roderique” (ship), 

mentioned. 

L’Enfant, Pierre Charles, 

appointed captain in the Corps of Engineers. 

promoted to rank of major by brevet. 

mentioned. 

Leonard, Nathaniel, 

mentioned. 

Letters {see Franking privilege), 

to army in Mexico free of postage. 

official^ to heads of bureaus free of postage. 

free of postage to and from the Adjutant-General. 

inspector of the Army. 

General. 

Quartermaster-General. 

Commissary-General. 

director of hospital. 

physician-general. 

apothecary-general. 


Page. 

536 

538 

543 

563 

573 

573 

594 

548 


. 539 

. 548 

. 541 

. 549 

. 641 

.62,89 

... 657,658 

153,274, 300 

. 263 

. 547 

. 549 


32 

48 

.. 388,400 
.... 681 

_ 439 

38, 682, 683 

.... 362 


389 


56, 60,90, 304 


272,283,535,539 

. 121 

... 246,253,544 


57 

56 

286,555 


. 490 

. 495 

.. 490,495 

. 383 

. 31 

. 38 

.71,72,73 

. 108 

. 109,111 

183,197, 201, 205 
... 335,339,340 

. 394 

. 408 

.. 408 


















































748 


INDEX. 


Letters—C ontinued. Page. 

free of postage to and from the Surgeon-General. 'lOS, 412 

Paymaster-General. 465 

Chief of Engineers. 502 

Topographical Engineers. 502 


Chief of Ordnance. 584 

Lewis, Andrew, 

mentioned. 57 

I.,Ewis, Morgan, 

appointed deputy quartermaster-general. 144 

elected deputy quartermaster-general. 144 

mentioned. 140 

Lewis, Francis, 

member of committee. 240, 241, 363, 364 

mentioned. 142 

Lewis, William, 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 

Library {see Washington Public Library). 

Library op Congress, 

construction of the, under Chief of Engineers. 523 

privilege of the, granted to Chief of Engineers. 524 

mentioned. 525, 526 

Lieber, Guido N., 

mentioned. 121 

Light artillery, 

respecting clothing for the. 334 

Light boats, 

sites for, to be determined by Topographical Bureau. 505 

Light dragoons, 

uniform of the. 16 

respecting clothing for the. 334 

Light-House Board, 

how constituted in part. 505 

mentioned. 505 

Light-house inspectors, 

respecting detail of officers as. 505 

Light-houses, 

sites for, to be determined by Topographical Bureau. 505, 506 

construction and renovation of, under superintendence of engineer offi¬ 
cers . 505, 506 

plans for certain, to be approved by Topographical Bureau. 505 

Light infantry, 

uniform of the... 18,19, 22 

Lincoln, Abraham, 

repairs to house in which President, died. 528 

Lincoln, Ben.iamin, 

mentioned. 91,100 

Linen, 

care of, purchased for the Army.. 142 

fit for tents, how disposed of. 148 

to be imported. 263 

respecting, for sick in hospitals. 277, 376 


/ / / / 

Lint, 

to be imported. 365 

Lippet, Christopher, 

mentioned. 56 

Liston’s Point, Pa., 

. respecting dike between, and Reedy Island. 526 

Litters, 

to be provided. 372 

horse and mule, authorized. 421 

Little Rock Arsenal, 

respecting pay of military storekeeper at the. 587 

Live stock {see Cattle), 

allowances to agents purchasing. 269 

pay, etc., of superintendent of. 317 

purchased, how deliverable. 317 














































INDEX. 


749 


Livingston,-, 

member of committee .. ro 

Livingston,—* -, . oo/,oc{y 

mentioned. 

Livingston,-•, . 

to do duty as brigade-major.. 

Livingston,-, . 

mentioned. 

Livingston, Robert R., . 

mentioned. r^ 9 

Livingston, AValter, 04 ,- 4 .. 

chosen for commissary of stores and provisions for the New York Depart- 

Livingston, William, . 

mentioned. , 

Lockhart, Patrick, . 

procure pack horses and provisions for expedition against Detroit... 157 286 

J-iONGj iN ICHOLASj 

appointed deputy quartermaster-general. X 43 

to have rank of colonel.] ]. 14 c 

Long, Stephen H., 

mentioned.. 

Low, Simeon, 


appointed assistant adjutant-general. 

Louis XVIII, 

mentioned. 

Louis Philippe, 

mentioned. 

Louisiana, 

recruiting officers not to be sent into. 

Louisville, Ry., 

quartermaster’s depot at, mentioned. 

Louisville and Portland Canal, 

mentioned. 

Lovell, James, 

member of committee. 

Lovell, Joseph, 

mentioned. 

Lowry, Thomas, 

appointed to supply rations to New Jersey battalions. 

Ludington, Marshali/J., 

mentioned. 

Ludwig, Christopher, 

appointed superintendent of bakers. 

continued in that office. 

compensation of, for past services. 

Lukens, Charles, 

commissioned major-commissary of military stores at Carlisle 

pay of.‘. 

excused from further service. 

mentioned. 

Lutterloh, Henry Emanuel, 

appointed deputy quartermaster-general. 

commissar)^ of forage. 

Lux, Darby, 

mentioned. 

Lyman, Daniel, 

appointed brigade-major. 

Lynch, Thomas, 

member of committee. 

mentioned. 


66 


500 

500 


677 

217 


524 


87 


862 


242 


140 

253 

318 

318 

549 

549 

561 

534 


152 

179 

548 


56 


364 

243 


M. 

McClure,-, 

mentioned.'. 59 

M’Coomb, John, 

authorized to act as quartermaster at Princeton. 152 










































750 


INDEX. 


jMcCormick, Henry, 

appointed brigade major. 59 

to do the duty of brigade major. 62 

appointed brigade inspector. 94 

McDougall, Alexander, 

mentioned. 55, 95, 632 

McGowan, John, 

to do the duty of brigade major. 59, 62 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 

mentioned. 60 

McHenry, James, 

mentioned. 4 

McHenry, James, 

mentioned. 367 

McIntosh, Lachlan, 

mentioned. 59, 89 

McKallister, John, 

mentioned. 263 

McKean, Thomas, 

member of committee. 247, 537 

mentioned. 297 

McKnight, Charles, 

elected surgeon-general for the hospital in middle department. 378 

chief hospital physician. 389 

mentioned. 361 

McLean, Nathaniel H., 

appointment of, in the Adjutant-General’s Department, or his reinstate¬ 
ment and retirement authorized. 78 

McLinney,-, 

to act as brigade major. 00 

McWilliams, William, 

to do duty as brigade major. 56 

McFeely, Robert, 

mentioned. 238 

Mackay', Eneas, 

mentioned. 248 

Mackenzie, Samuel, 

mentioned. 370 

Macomb, Alexander, 

mentioned. 52,483 

Magazines, 

certain, to be inspected.. 87, 253 

barracks, etc., to be erected at principal. 152, 259 

of provisions to be established. 157, 245, 250, 279, 280, 288, 291, 310, 316, 324 

North Carolina to furnish, of forage.-. 179 

Secretary of War to direct building and management of. 184, 565 

of military stores to be established... 541, 544, 545, 547,572 

inspected. 564 

duties of keepers of, and arsenals. 580 


]\lAIMING, 

Freedmen’s Bureau to prohibit, as a punishment. 659 

Malcolm, William, 

appointed deputy adjutant-general in northern department. 60 

permitted to hold his rank in the Army and his regiment. 61 

mentioned... 59,493 

Malt liquor, ’ 

may be issued in lieu of rum, whisky, or brandy. 333 

^Manchester, 

mentioned. 571 

Maneuvers, 

respecting system of. 89, 90, 91, 92, 96 

troops to be instructed in. 87 90 

Manufactory, 

of fire arms at Lancaster, Pa., mentioned. 54 I 

respecting establishment of a, of fire arms. 555 

allowances to superintendent of certain, of arms. 581 














































INDEX. 


751 


Maps, 

surplus, of the Signal Office mav he sold 

JM ARCHANT, Henry, “ . 

member of committee. 

Marcy, Randolph B., . 

mentioned. 

Marine agent, 

to appoint a commissary for marine prisoners 

mentioned.'.. 

Marine committee, 

to regulate issue of provisions to the French squadron__ 

aid the Commissary-General to fulfill certain engagements. 

be applied to for use of Government vessels... 

control exchange of marine prisoners. 

Marine Corps, 

respecting enlistment of drafted men in the. 

issue of provisions to detachments of.'.*!!!!* 

IVIarianna, Fla., 

mentioned.. 

JMarmie, Turnbull Co., 

mentioned. 

“Marquis of Kildare” (brig), 

mentioned. 

INIarselis, Gysbert, 

appointment of, as barrack master confirmed. 

Marshall, Elihu, 

to act as brigade-major. 

Marshall, John, 

appointed deputy judge-advocate. 

Martin,-, 

accepted commutation in lieu of half pay. 

Marvin, Elihu, 

appointed brigade-niajor pro tern. 

Maryland, 

uniform of the, line. 

requested to seize provisions, etc., in hands of engrossers. 

provide guards for certain prisoners of war. 

not to grant exceptions from embargo. 

quota of, to be furnished in forage. 

how paid for. 

provisions, etc. 

■when deliverable.. 

to furnish flour and Indian corn.. 

cattle. 

liart of flour furnished by, may be retained in the State. 

respecting mode of obtaining saltpeter from tobacco houses in 

removal of certain military stores in. 

lead mine in. 


Page. 
615, 616 


254 


86 

650 
. 495 

- 287 

. 300 

. 540 

644, 650 


672 

337 


501 


327 


146,248,543 


143 


60 

124 


. 401 

59 
15 

158, 289 

- 649 

- 289 

. 166 
. 166 
306, 313 
. 315 

- 303 

. 311 

. 310 

. 538 

. 546 

. 548 


mentioned. 264, 271,279, 280, 287, 545 

Mason, David, 

excused from further service. 560 


Massachusetts, 

uniform of the, line. 15 

establishment of magazines of provisions in. 157 

mentioned. 322, 636 

Massachusetts Bay, ^ 

requested to seize certain clothing. 277 

board of war of, requested to import flour and provide vessels. 278 

quota of, to be furnished in provisions. 306, 312 

how paid for. 307 

when deliverable. 314 

to furnish cattle. 310, 311 

requested to collect saltpeter and brimstone. 535 

report condition of lead mines. 541 

respecting erection of magazine and laboratory in. 545,547 

removal of prisoners of war in. 642 

mentioned.-. 123, 240,271 




















































752 


INDEX. 


MaSSENBACH, -, Digc. 

elected engineer for Southern Department. 485 

Massey, Willia-ai, 

appointed deputy muster-master-general for South Carolina and Georgia. 835 
Master armorers {see Pay) , 

authorized. 572,598 

how appointed. 572 

to be designated as sergeants. 596 

Mates {see Surgeon’s mates; Hospital mates; Apothecary’s mates). 

Matrons {see Pay; Rations), 

authorized.. 371,384,392 

by whom appointed. 372,387, 391 

Mattack, Timothy, 

to be employed as storekeeper. 142 

Matthews, John, 

member of committee. 14,17, 286 

mentioned. 17,157, 394 

Maumee Valley Monumental Association, 

mentioned. 522 

Maus, Matthew, 

mentioned. 390 

Maxavell, William, 

mentioned. 59, 60, 89, 95 

Mead, Israel, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk. 244 

Meal {see Indian meal). 

Measam, George, 

continued in office of superintendent of commissary of stores for the 

Northern Army; pay of. 246 

elected commissary of clothing for the Northern Army; allowed pay and 

rations of a major. 248 

Mease, James, 

to deliver to the quartermaster-general all the cloth fit for tents. 148 

appointed commissary to supply the Pennsylvania battalions. 243 

to purchase necessary articles for approaching winter. 249, 250 

hats and caps and employ tailors. 250 

appointed clothier-general. 252 


Mease and Caldavell, (Messrs.), 

mentioned. 246 

Meat, 

agents to purchase, east of the Susquehanna. 280 

Mechanics, 

necessary, in Quartermaster’s Department authorized-.. 201 

Medical attendance, 

nurses entitled to. 439 

respecting, to families of officers and men. 433 

Medical boards, 

authorized. 396, 405, 419 

duties of. 396, 397, 398, 405 

mentioned. 418 

Medical cadets, 

authorized. 416,417 

duties of. 416 

to have rank and pay of West Point cadets. 416 

Medical coMxAiittee, 

to supply director of hospital Avith medicines. 366 

increased. 366 

to forward medicines, etc., to indicated points.... 367, 369 

purchase medicines. 367 

provide antiscorbutics for the hospitals. 368 

provide accommodation for the sick. 369 

employ agents in each State to purchase medicines. 370 

resolution relative to Medical Department recommitted to the. 381 

to revise regulations relating to the hospital department. 382 

take measures for carrying on business of the Medical Department_ 383 

give directions for establishing a hospital in Virginia. 391 













































INDEX. 


753 


Medical committee—C ontinued. P 

discontinued; returns and papers of the, to be lodger! with the hoard of 

. 

reports of.. '^ 7 ^ tit 

Medical Department {see Hospital Department; Hosp’i^IL'Corps)’. ’ 

inquiry to be made into abuses in the. o^o 

how constituted. .i i ’ jo? ‘ i 00 d 

increased.’-iil *413*414*416 41?’418 419 433 ’ 4^6 

officers of the, not to be concerned in trade 

respecting vacancies in the. 414 428 

National Homes for Disabled Volunteers; Soldiers’ Home ”) ’ 

. 428, 429, 435,’436, 455 

Medical director, 7 ,,,,,, wu 

duties of, of army corps. 42 o 

respecting, of armies in the field.]" .. 423 

Medical inspector-general, 

authorized... 

how appointed.. 417 

duties of.417 4 i 8 

Medical inspectors, . ’ 

authorized. 45^7 4^9 

how appointed.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 417 ’ 419 

duties of ....” 4 1*7, 418^20 

mentioned. 4 ]^g 

Medical officers {see Surgeons), 

duties of chief, of army corps. 420 

respecting pensions to, who served in the Revolutionary war.*'. ** 409 

captured, who have charge of sick prisoners.*^. 394 

entitled to one additional ration for every five years’ service. 412 

to unite with line officers in supervising cooking. 420 

a, to report upon epidemic cholera. 427 

not entitled to command by virtue of their rank. 413, 429 

to rank according to date of commission. 433 

attend families of officers and men. 433 

regulating grades of certain. 434 

respecting assignment of. 435 

number of, increased. 436 

mentioned. 423 

Medical property, 

accounts to be taken .of. 398 

Medical purveyors {see Pay, Rations, Forage Land), 

authorized.. 384, 404, 423, 429 

how appointed. 388,404 

appointed. 389 

to take the oath of office. 390 

duties of. 385, 386,387, 390, 391, 397, 4tH, 417, 418,429 

to give bonds. 419,423, 430 

undergo examination. 424 

may be assigned to duty as surgeons. 429 

mentioned. 384 

deputy, authorized. 392 

appointed. 393, 395, 398 

duties of... 392 

assistant, appointed. 395 


Medical staff, ^ 

extended. 409 

brigade surgeons attached to the. 419 

Medical storekeepers {see Pay), 

authorized_*. 418 

to give bonds. -ilS, 419 

abolished. 428 

Medical stores {see Medicines), 

to be inspected. 365 

druggist appointed in Philadelphia to receive all. 367 

respecting removal of.-. 369, 376 

loss of or damage to, how punished. 383 


S. Doc. 229- 

























































754 


INDEX. 


Medical Stores—C ontinued. 

all, not necessary to be sold. 400 

respecting accountability for. 377 

returns of all, to be made. 401 

respecting issue of, to destitute refugees or freedmen. 657 

Medicines (see Peruvian bark), 

purchase of, authorized. ^40, 364, 365 

to be imported. 365 

supplied. 365,366 

provided. 367, 369, 370, 380 

returns ot to be made.*. 369, 399 

estimates of, required to be submitted. 384 

all, in A^'irginia to be collected. 391 

mentioned. 404 

Medicine wagons, 

mentioned. 421 

Mehelm, John, 

appointed commissary of hides. 291 

mentioned. 238 

iNIeigs, Montgomery C., 

placed in charge of construction of Pension building. 227 

to superintend construction of Washington Aqueduct. 507 

mentioned. 140 

Melchior,-, 

to dismiss certain of his deputies. 163 

Memorial, 

on necessity of a corps of engineers, mentioned. 495 

Memorial bridge, 

respecting a, from Washington City to Arlington, Va. 526 

Memphis, Tenn,, 

respecting construction of an arsenal at. 584 

Meng, Wollory, 

commissioned captain superintendent of leather manufactory... 549 

captain in Colonel Flowers’s regiment. 553 

Mentges, Francis, 

allowed additional compensation while acting as inspector of (Contracts to 

the Southern army under General Greene’s appointment. 103 

mentioned. 85,103 

Mercer, James; 

member of committee. 164, 299 

Mercury (ship), 

mentioned. 252, 546 

Merlet,-, 

mentioned. 90 

Meteorological observations, 

at military posts, authorized. 614, 616 

Mexican frontier, 

respecting telegraph lines on the. 615 

Mexican War (see Badges), 


status as to allowances of men of the Ordnance Department who served 

in the.. 586 

Mexico, 

letters, etc., to army in, free of postage. 31 

resj^cting care of cemetery near city of. 221 

Miami Kiver, Fla., 

respecting routes from, to the sea. 528 

Michigan and Illinois Canal, 

mentioned.,. 519 

IMiddle Department, 

respecting salt for troops in the. 271, 275 

importation of flour from the. 278 

mentioned. 54, 373, 374, 375, 378,449 

Middleton, 

member of committee. ... 247, 363, 544 

Mifflin, Jonathan, 

appointed brigade-major. 55 

deputy quartermaster-general. 152 















































INDEX. 


755 


Page. 
7, 535 


Mifflin, Thomas, 

member of committee. 

appointed Quartermaster-General.. ' ’ 141 

conditionally. I 45 

requested by Congress to resume office of Quartermaster-General. 145 

allowance to, for his service as Quartermaster-General... 151 

given leave to repair to General Washington’s headquarters . ’"' 1*51 156 

returned his commissions as major-general and Quartermaster-’tienerai... ’ 153 
resignation accepted, but commission of major-general returned to him 153 

elected member of the Board of War... ’' 153 

directed to exercise duties of Quartermaster-Genera'l'notwithstandiAg ids 

resignation. 

tendered his resignation. I 57 

resigned.160 

mentioned. 3,17, 55,90,139,140,145,146,148,152,1*54,160, 253 

Mileage (see Traveling expenses), 

... V ■ *7. 34, 35, 38, 41, 43, 44, 48, 434 

not legal m excess of actual expenses. 38 

when transportation requests are furnished. 47 

how computed... !.!!..!!!!]. 685 

Miles, John, 

appointed brigade quartermaster. 183 

Military Academy, 

Corps of Engineers to constitute a. 497 

respecting superintendence of the.”. 497 

how constituted. 498 

Superintendent of the, how selected. 510 

mentioned. 230,514 

Military agents {see Pay),. 

and assistants authorized. 195,332 

office of, discontinued. ’ 197 

Military asylum {see Soldiers’ Home), 

Military departments {see Eastern, New York, Northern, and Southern 
departments), 

commissary of lorage authorized for each of the. 148 

duties of commanders of. 151,182, 375 

mentioned. 190, 247, 273, 288, 371,423,485, 564 

Military divisions, 

mentioned. 348 

Military jurisdiction, 

all persons in Freedmen’s Bureau to be under. 163, 283,657 

Military prison, 

to be inspected. 113,114,115 

surgeon detailed for duty at the. 427 

Military societies {see Badges). 

Military storekeepers {see Rank, Pay, Ordnance storekeepers), 

authorized in purchasing department. 337, 339 

Quartermaster’s Dei)artment. 208, 210, 218, 231 

appointed. 143 

to give bonds_. 208,597 

grade of, in (Quartermaster’s Department, when to cease. 222, 232 

Military supplies {see Ordnance stores), 

inspection of unserviceable, by whom made. Ill, 204, 340,410, 616 

means to prevent loss, etc., of. 149,150 

respecting purchase of. 196, 564 

sale of damaged, when to be made. 204, 339, 410, 540, 616 

Secretary of War to control and supervise all. 210, 336 

all surplus, to be sold. 326 

returns of all, to be made. 326, 336 

respecting forms of returns and accounts of. 336,578 

Secretary of War to prescribe species and amounts of, to be purchased ... 336 

respecting proceeds of sales of. 505, 587 

Militia, 

inspectors to be appointed to the, when in service. 96 

commission allowed on payments to the. 4(36 

one paymaster allowed for two regiments of. 467 

respecting purchase of arms from the. 539 


















































756 


INDEX. 


Militia— Continued. I'age. 

arms to be provided for sale to the States. 574 

mentioned. 245, 285, 449, 463,465, 548,576 

Militia duty, 

respecting exemption from. 547 

Miller, Charles, 

pay and rations allowed to, as storekeeper. 244 

Mills (see Powder mills), 

flour barrels to be returned to the. 275 

Mills, John, 

mentioned. 51, 85 

Mines (see Lead mines; Symsbury mine). 

Minors, 

respecting discharge of. 674, 675 

Minots Rock, Mass., 

works near, mentioned. 504 

Mississippi River, 

respecting road from the, to designated point in Arkansas. 501 

railroad from the, to the Pacific Ocean. 506 

construction of a bridge over the, at La Crosse, Wis. 512 

survey of mouth of. 513 

the, and its tributaries. 513 

location of bridge across the, at Hickman, Ky. 522 

bridge to St. Louis over the. 526 

channel through southwest pass of the. 526, 528 

Mississippi River Commission, 

how constituted... 518, 519 

Missouri, 

respecting construction of arsenals in. 584 

Missouri River, 

respecting improvement of the, to Sioux City, Iowa.. 528 

Missouri River Commission, 

how constituted. 520 

mentioned. 528 

Mobile Kay, 

respecting erection of an arsenal on. 583 

Moccasins, 

men to be’selected to make, for their corps. 270 

Moffat,-, 

mentioned. 593 

Moneys, 

respecting, obtained from sales of stores and supplies. 505, 587 

appropriated for the Ordnance Service. 595, 599 

Signal Service. 620 


Monongahela Navigation Company, 

mentioned. 521 

Montgomery, John, 

appointed to muster Major Wilson’s battalion. 635 

Moore, James, 

appointed brigade major. 61, 63 

inspector. 96 

Moore, John, 

ajijiointed to act as an assistant commissary of purchases. 282 

Moore, John, 


mentioned.■ 

Moore, Willis E., 

mentioned. 

Morgan, George, 

to appoint a deputy commissary for the troops on the 

Virginia. 

appointed deputy commissary-general of purchases ... 

mentioned. 

Morgan, John, 

elected director-general and chief physician. 

appointed director-general and physician in chief_ 

mentioned. 

Morgan, Michael R., 

mentioned. 


.■. 362 

.. 593 

western frontiers of 

. 251 

.. 273 

. 291 

. 364 

. 367 

361,366,368,369,380 

.. 238 













































INDEX. 


757 


Morris, Gouverneur, Page. 

member of committee. I 5 291 

mentioned. 

Morris, Lewis, 

member of committee. 253,535, 539,540 

Morris, Robert, 

member of committee. 246 

Morris, Robert, 

directed to send 3 tons of steel and 5 tons of nail rods for the use of the 

army in the Northern Department. 545 

Mortars, 

respecting the casting of. 549 

arrival of imported, announced. 550 

contracts to be made for. 554 

mentioned. 57 O 

Moultrie, William, 

mentioned. 648 

Mount Vernon, Va., 

survey of a national road from the Aqueduct Bridge to. 523 

Moylan, John, 

elected clothier-general. 318 

appointment announced to the Army. 319 

mentioned. 238 

Moylan, Stephen, 

elected Quartermaster-General. 144 

appointment of, announced to the Army. 144 

to have rank of colonel and pay of $80 a month. 144 

appointed muster-master-general. 631 

mentioned. 140,145, 629 

Muhlenberg, Peter, 

mentioned. 58,59, 61, 89, 94 

Mule litters, 

authorized in lieu of ambulaiu;cs. 421 

Mullany, James R., 

mentioned. 140 

Mullens, Thomas, 

appointed brigade-major. 58,59 

to act as brigade-major. 59 

Mumford, William Green, 

elected deputy (;ommissary-general of issues. 263 


Murray,-, 

to be commissioned captain of sappers and miners. 

resigned. 

Murray, Robert, 

mentioned. 

Musket locks {see Gunlocks), 

to be imported. 

Muskets (sf’e Rifles), 

respecting importation of. 

manufacture of.-. 

purchase of. 

all to be stamped “United States ”. 

distribution of imported. 

impressment of. 

to be furnished the Southern army. 

mentioned. 

Mustering Department, 

plan of the.: ’i* *1 * V. 

necessary books and j)aper to be furnished the. 

mentioned. . 

discontinued. 

Mustering officers, 

duties of.- -.- -.*- 

Muster-Master-General {see Rank; Pay; Rations; Jorage), 

appointed.. 

deputy, authorized. 

appointed. 


. 491 

. 493 

.-. 362 

.. 537 

. 536 

537, 539,541,543,555 

.. 538,539,541 

.. 546 

.. 546 

.. 548 

. 563 

.. 547 

.. 96 

.. 179 

.. 636 

.. 636 

.. 98 

. 631,632 

. 633,635 

.... 631,632,634,635 
















































758 


INDEX. 


Muster-M aster-General—C ontinued. 

deputy, to take the oath of office. d.S5 

duties of. 632 

Muster masters (see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

for corps of wagoners authorized. 635 

respecting issue of small quantity of shirts and linen to. 304, 636 

mentioned. 636 

deputy, authorized. 631, 632, 633 

appointed. 634, 635 

duties of. 634 

Muster rolls, 

abstracts of, to whom sent. 57,633 

how made. 97,98 

to be sworn to. 634 

Musters, 

by whom made. 95,100, 636 

how made. 97,98 

when to be made. 631, 633 

Myer, Albert J., 

mentioned. 611 

Nash, William H., 

mentioned. 238 

National armories, 

to be established at each arsenal. 572 

reports of arms made and repaired in, to be made. 572 

National cemeteries, 

authorized. 218 

superintendents of, how selected. 218, 220 , 226 

to be inclosed. 219, 226 

graves in, how marked.^. 219, 221, 226 

care of cemetery near City of Mexico. 221, 222, 226 

National Home for Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans, 

respecting, issue of medical stores to the. 423 

National Homes for Disabled Volunteers, 

respecting clothing for the. 222 , 687 

obsolete ordnance and ordnance stores for the. 605 

to be inspected yearly. 116 

medical stores to be sold to the. 424,436 

National road, 

survey of a, from the Aqueduct Bridge to Mount Vernon, Va. 523 

Naval arsenals, 

respecting erection of.... 500 

Naval officers, 

to inspect steam vessels for the Quartermaster’s Department. 216 

Naval service, 

provisions respecting artificial limbs api)licable to men in the. 426 

mariners liable to draft may enlist in the. 671 

enlistments in the, how credited. 672, 676, 678 

mentioned. 670 

Negroes, 

to ])e enrolled. 675 

bounty to slave, to whom paid. 676 

Nevada volunteers, 

respecting traveling expenses of, discharged in New Mexico, Arizona, and 

Utah. 472 

Nevin, Daniel, 

to be commissioned captain of sappers and miners. 491 

appointed captain of engineers. 491 

New Canaan, N. Y., 

respecting lead mine at. 539 

New England, 


New H AMPSHIRE, 

uniform of the, line. 15 

quota of, to be furnished in provisions. 306, 312 















































INDEX. 


759 


Nkw Hampshire—C ontinued. Page, 

quota of, to be furnished in provisions, liow paid for. 307 

^ , , , . , 'Vhen deliverable.30V, SU 

re(|uested to furnish cattle. 35^0 

collect saltpeter and brimstones. 535 

New Jersey, 

uniform of the, line.. I 5 

requested to authorize impressment of provisions in hands of engrossers. 158, 289 

(piota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

how paid for. 166 

provisions. 306 

how paid for... 307, 313 

when deliverable.-. 307,314 

requested to call for contributions of blankets. 268 

not to grant exemptions from embargo. 289 

to furnish dour. 304 

flattie.!'.!!'.! 310 

collect saltpeter and brimstone. 535 

report condition of lead mines. 541 

improvement of channel between, and Staten Island. 513 

mentioned. 176, 271, 291, 311, 368, 380, 381, 390, 545, 550 

New London, Conn., 

mentioned. 383,571 

New Mexico, 

traveling expenses of California volunteers discharged in. 472 

respecting pay of military storekeeper of ordnance in. 587 

New Orleans, La., 

respecting construction of custom-house in. 505 

Newton, J.ohn, 

mentioned. 483 

New Windsor, N. Y., 

mentioned. 400 

New York, 

uniform of the, line. 15 

requested to authorize impressment of provisions in hands of engrossers. 158, 289 

quota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

how paid for. 166 

provisions. 306,312 

how paid for. 307,312 

when deliverable... 307,314 

requested not to grant exemptions from embargo. 289 

to cause distribution of certain provisions. 300 

sulphur in New York City to be removed. 690 

collect saltpeter and brimstone. 535 

respecting lead mines in. 539,541, 549, 641 

mentioned. 639,645, 648, 690 

New York City, N. Y., 

quartermaster’s depot at, mentioned. 217 

respecting certain bells taken from. 569 

sulphur in the. 690 

New York Department, 

appointment of staff officers for the. 53,141, 239, 445 

Niagara, N. Y., 

pay of assistant military agent at. 195 

Niagara River, 

respecting width of draw in bridge across the. 527 

Nicaraguan Canal, 

mentioned. 626 

Nichols, Bela, 

commissioned first lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers. o59 

Nichols, Noah, 

commissioned captain in regiment of artillery artificers. 559 

Nicodemus, William J. L., 

mentioned. 611 

Nicola, Lewis, 

mentioned. 

Nicoll, Abimael Y., - 

mentioned.. 


















































760 


INDEX. 


Nixon, John, P & ge . 

mentioned. 55, 56, 62 

Noarth, Georgk, 

mentioned. 635 

Noncombatants, 

drafte<i, may be assigned to duty in hospitals. 674 

Norris George, 

commissioned first lieutenant of artillery artificers. 549 

North, William, 

appointment of, as inspector of the troops remaining in service confirmed. 103 

to receive pay allowed to an inspector of a separate army. 103 

mentioned. 51,52,85 

North Carolina, 

uniform of the, line. 15 

appointment of staff officers for duty in. 143 

respecting agents in, to purchase leather and deerskins. 153, 274 

quota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

how paid for. 166 

provisions. 306, 313 

how paid for. 307 

when deliverable. 307, 314, 315 

to furnish magazines of forage.179 

provisions. 310 

requested to lay an embargo on beef and pork. 280 

collect saltpeter and brimstone. 535 

mentioned.i. 246, 279, 365, 583, 632 

North Carolina light horse, 

• paymaster for the, appointed. 448 

Northern army, 

appointment of staff officers for the. 58,103,124,144, 248, 364, 632 

respecting supply of the. 246 

medicines to be sent to the. 367 

mentioned. 545 

Northern Department, 

appointment of staff officers for the. 57, 60, 265, 269, 290, 367, 370, 374 

payment of troops in the, ])y whom made. 446 

mentioned. 12, 275, 368, 369, 378, 545, 633 

North River Bridge, 

mentioned. 524 

Nourse, Charles J., 

mentioned. 52 

Nurse corps, 

how constituted. 439 

attached to Medical Department. 437 

payments to the, by whom made. 439, 478 

Nurses (see Pay; Rations; Pensions), 

authorized. 363, 371, 384, 392,404, 439 

how appointed. 364, 387, 391 

female, may be substituted for soldiers. 416,430 

O. 

Oath of Office, 

form of. 12, 21, 33, 682, 684 

to be taken by officers of the department of stores and provisions. 239 

purchases. 261,284,317 

issues. 261,278 

Quartermaster’s Department .... 141,154,175,188 

Hospital Department. 390 

Pay Department. 445,458,459,460 

Freedmen’s Bureau. 655,659 

inspectors of contracts. 185, 323 

respecting failure to take the. 154, 377, 398,566 

Oaths, 

form of, as to correctness of muster rolls. 98 

of witnesses before courts-martial. 128,133 

judge-advocates authorized to administer. 134 

boards of enrollment empowered to administer. 673 


















































INDEX. 


7r>i 

Observations, 

respecting system of, by Signal Service cia 

Office, ^ ' . 

civil, not to be held by officers on the active list. 085 

holding a civil, no bar to receiving half pay . 453 

Officers {see Engineer; Topographical PixcuNEEHs; Signal'Stop ’ 
Officers), 

all, under rank of brigadier-general may be <Usplace<l liy General Wash¬ 
ington . ^2 

grant of land to .. .•.. 11 19 

Pay; Rations; Half pay; Servants; Homes; Forage; Baggage 
Wagons; Batiiorses; Brevets; Uniform; Badges; Retired List’ 
Artificial Limbs; Prisoners of W'ar.) ’ 

forbidden to wear red coats. 19 

disabled, to be placed on list of invalids. 24 25 

respecting line, transferred to staff. 28, si, 89, 70, 78,"93,’4(’)4,’683, 686 

discharged in 1815 to receive three months’ pay. 27 

entitled to pension for service in the Revolutionary war. 28, 29 

not to receive extra allowances not authorized by law^. ’ 30 

when deemed deserters. 32 33 

claims of, entitled to retirement. 32, 34 , 37 39 42 

may purchase articles kept by Subsistence Department..’ 35 ’41 

length of service, how computed. 36 

respecting transportation to, traveling without troops. 43 

{See Mileage; Leave of Absence; Quarters; Traveling Allowances; 
Volunteer Officers.) 

respecting detail of, for staff duty. 45,134, 233, 234, 357, 358,529, 606, 686 

portmanteaus and valises issued to. 160 

supernumerary, of infantry. 185,323, 494,566, 650 

in hospitals to lie cured of venereal diseases. 376 

detail of, for ambulance duty. 420 

settlement of accounts of..... 456 

assignment of, to duty as paymasters. 466,467 

in fVeedmen’s Bureau. 656,657 

{See Anus; Patents; Inventions.) 

on active list not to hold any Territorial civil otiice. 685 

mentioned.‘. 23,183 

Ogden, Aaron, 

appointed brigade-major. 60, 66 

to do the duty of brigade-major pro tern. 63 

O’Hara, James, 

mentioned. 140, 319, 328 

Ohio River, 

canal around falls of the, mentioned. 505 

examination of all bridges over tin*. 511,512 

canal route from Lake Erie to the. 526 

Oliphant, David, 

elected deputy director of the hospitals of the Southern Army ... 394 

mentioned.. ^. 361, 382, 394 

Oliver, Robert, 

appointed brigade-major. 62 

mentioned. 99 

( )rdinance, 

for regulating the Clothing Department. 293 

Ordnance {see Cannon; Guns; Mortars), 

respecting issues of captured. 592 

condemned.*.. 605 

heavy rifled. 593 

unserviceable, may be sold. 582 

obsolete projectiles for, may be sold. 595 

depots of, authorized. 596 

respecting inventions of. 519, 600 

cost of, issued to States and Territories, how credited. 602 

contracts for, may be made. 604 

may be purchased wi hout advertisement. 604 

mentioned... ?. 577,580,581,596 



















































762 


INDEX. 


Ordnance Bureau, 

pay of principal ansistant in the... 587, 598 

superintendent of manufacture of iron cannon authorized in tlie. 585,586 

to purchase or contract for necessary ordnance and stores. 604 

Ordnance Department, 

how constituted. 576, 579, 583, 592, 594, 595, 596, 604, 605, 606 

increased. 584, 586, 590,591 

respecting business of the, to be done in tlie field. 556 

report on condition of the. 569 

merged into the artillery.•. . 581 

acd merging the, into the artillery repealed. 583 

regulating number of subalterns transferred to the. 585 

enlisted men of the, how designated. 590, 591 

new appointments and promotions in the, forbidden. 593 

may be made. 595 

promotions and ai)])ointments in tlie, subject to examination. 594 

{see Vacancies. ) 

of the Navy mentioned. 602 

respecting details for duty in the. 581, 606 

mentioned. 581, 595, 598, 600, 602 

Ordnance officers (see Pay; Rations), 

may be retained or transferred to other corps. 581 

superintendents of designated armories to be. 585,590, 598 

repealed. 588 

who served fourteen years as subaltern to be promoted. 588, 597 

to be examined prior to promotion. 591, 597 

(see Vacancies.) 

examination to precede appointment as. 596 

respecting examination of, who served as volunteers. 603 

promotion of. 606 

mentioned... 582,586, 600, 602, 604 

Ordnance sergeants, 

authorized. 583, 595 

how selected. 583, 595 

Ordnance st'orekeepers (see Rank; Pay), 

authorized. 572, 592, 596, 600, 606 

to give bonds. 597 

may be assigned as jiaymasters at arsenals and armories. 592, 596 

number of, limited.:. 585 

mentioned. 219, 577, 580, 584, 587 

office of, when to cease. 605 

Ordnance stores (see Chief of Ordnance), 

committee to consider means of obtaining. 535 

respecting magazines of._ 541, 574 

removal of certain. 546,548 

issues of, in camp. 559 

disposition of imported. 565 

in fixed magazines, how drawn out. 556 

returns of, to be made. 557, 565, 568, 569, 577, 580, 581 

respecting embezzlement, efc., of. 561 

not to be sold without order of Congress. 568 

sale of, to be stopped.!. 559 

respecting forms of returns and accounts of. 336, 578 

establishment of depots of, authorized. 580,596 

damaged or unsuitable, may be sold. 582, 593 ^ 598 

regulates purchase of. 589, 590,604 

cost of, issued to States and Territories, how credited. 602 

respecting freight charges on. 607 


^ ' '' ' ' .,-J .,— 

Oregon, 

pay of ordnance storekeepers in. 587 

Ores (see Lead), 

Orphans, 

of officers who died of wounds entitled to pension.24, 26 

mentioned. 457 

Otis, Samuel A., 

mentioned. 277 























































INDEX. 


763 


Otto, Bodo, 

accepted coiiiinutation in lieu of half pay. 
Otto, F'hederick, 

accepted coinmutation in lien of half i)ay 
OwiNGs, Nathaniel, 

mentioned. 

Oxen, 

number of, fit for service to be reported.. 
respecting exchange of horses for draft... 
Ox TEAMS, 

respecting substitution of, for horse teams 


Page. 

401 

401 

548 

147 

180 

158 


Paca, William, 

member of committee 

mentioned. 

Pacific coast. 


P. 


247, 249, 540 
... 146,250 


respecting contracts for supplies needed on the. 217, 218 

erection of gun factories on the. ’ 524 

deep-water harbor on the. 524 

Pacific Ocean, 

respecting railroad to the. 506 

mentioned.46 

Pack animals, 

number of, limited. 228 

Packers, 

authorized. 261 

pay of, by whom regulated.]. 262, 305 

Packets {see Letters), 

Pails, 

huts for troops to be provided with. 154 

Paine, Robert Treat, 

member of committee. 247, 363,535, 538, 539, 540,543,545 

mentioned. 54,242 

Palfrey, William, 

elected Paymaster-General of the Army of the United States... .*. 446 

j)ay increased. 450 

allowed the sum of $20,000 compensation for services. 453 

appointment announced to the Army. 446 


Palmer,-, 

mentioned. 146,248, 543 

Pancoast, David, 

commissioned captain of artillery artificers. 549 

mentioned. 554 

Parks, Theophilus, 

commissioned lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers. 554 

mentioned. 559 

Parke, John, 

appointed an assistant to the Ciuarfermaster-General.. 141 

Parker, Daniel, 

mentioned. 52, 86, 443 

Parker, Paul, 

to do duty as brigade-major. 59 

Parole (see Exchange), 

prisoners on, to pay their own expenses. 647 


Parsons, S. IL, 

mentioned. 

Parvin, Mathew, 

appointment of, as conductor of artillery confirmed. 568 

Patten, Thomas, 

commissioned captain-lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers. 559 


Patterson,-, 

mentioned. 59, 89 

PATTER.SON, Thomas, 

ai)pointed brigade-major i)ro tern. 59 

Patterson, William, 

mentioned. . ^ 24 












































70)4 


INDEX. 


l^ASTURAGE, 


Page. 


States requested to pro(*nre, for public horses. 

Patent, 

claims for use of any, for preservation of clothing, etc., not allowed. 2L0 

Patent arms {see Inventions), 

purchase of, to be authorized by law. 

Patients, 

care of medical and surgical patients in Washington City. 510 

Paupers, 

care of transient, in Washington City. 510 

Pay {see Half pay; Retired list; Leave of absence), 

of officers established. 25, 57, 40, 496 

increased.-.— 31,36 

for every live years’ service.37,40 

serving extraterritorial!y increased. 47,48 

on the list of invalids. 24, 25 

of the Adiutant-General’s Department. 53, 55,57, 60, 61, 62, 

63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 

Inspector-General’s Department. 89, 90, 92, 93, 

94, 96, 99, 100, 102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,112,114 

Judge-Advocate-General’s Department. 123,124, 

126,127,129,130,131,132,133 

department of stores and provisions. 239 

purchases. 262, 304, 305, 335, 336, 337 

issues. 262, 264, 266, 296, 304 

hides. 263, 298 

militarv stores. 536,541, 

545, 546, 551, 552, 557, 560, 562, 563, 567,571 

musters. 631,633,634,635 

clothier’s department. 248, 267, 295, 296, 323 

Quartermaster’s Department. 141,144,145,148,151,156,161,162, 
163, 164, 173, 184, 185, 186, 191,192,193,194,195,196,199, 201, 
203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 210, 218, 222, 223, 231, 232, 233, 336 

Subsistence Department. 338,339, 

’ . 340,341,342,344,348,349,350,356 

Medical Department. 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 373, 378, 

387, 388, 391, 394, 396, 397, 398, 401, 402, 403, 405, 406, 407, 408, 
409, 410, 411, 412, 416, 417, 418, 419, 423, 424, 427, 428, 429,438 

pay department. 445, 447, 448, 449, 450, 452,453, 456, 458, 

459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 472,473,474 

Corps of Engineers. 485,486, 

487,491,494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 502, 509, 510,513 

corps of topographical engineers. 499 

Ordnance Department.. 581, 584, 585, 586, 587, 590, "592, 598, 604 
department of the commissary-general of ordnance. 577,578, 579 

prisoners. 639,644,645,650 

Signal Corps. 613, 614, 616, 618, 624 

bureau of refugees and freedmen. 655, 656, 657 

provost-marshal general’s bureau. 667, 673, 677 

corps of artillery—artificers. 550,553 

professors of the Military Academy. 497,498 

inspector of fortifications. 496 

contracts. 566 

cattle. 288,306 

surveyor of ordnance. 558 

military agents and assistants. 332 

superintendent of live stock. 317 

marine commissioner of prisoners..'. 651 

contract surgeons. 436,438 

paymasters’ clerks. 467, 469,470, 475 

ordnance sergeants... 583, 598 

superintendents of armories. 581, 584 

national cemeteries. 220, 226 

post quartermaster-sergeants. 229 

commissary sergeants. 349, 351 

hospital stewards.411, 414, 417, 433 

company of sappers and miners. 504 

engineer battalion. 508, 510, 514,515 


















































INDEX. 


765 


Pay—C ontinued. 

of artificers. 

artillery artificers..566'561 562 

topographical engineer soldiers. ’ ’599 

enlisted men of the Hospital Corps.^ ! 434 

Corps of Engineers.1-”"'! 511 

ordnance ."’590,*591, 598 

the Signal Corps. 617,620,625 

hospital matrons. 

nurses... 

employees in the department of stores and provisions. 244, 245, 246, 247’ 251 ’ 253 

purchases. ’317 

issues. 296 

military stores. 545 , 549 

commissary-general of ordnance. 577 

Quartermaster’s Department. 197,198,199, 224 

armories. 572,575,584,585,588,598 

bakers . . . 253, 281, 318 

respecting deficiency of, by reason of depreciated bills of credit. 17,19 

purchase of goods on account of. 19 

accounts for, how made. ”-..]]!!!!!! 20 

States requested to discharge deficiency on additional. 22 

three months, allowed to officers deranged in 1815. 27 

1818. 29 

warrant staff officers. 28 

of engineer member of Deep Waterways Commission.. 528 

Pay Department {see Vacancies), 

how organized. 463,469,472,474,476,477,478 

increased. 466,467, 468 

report of committee on the. 457 

no new apjiointments or promotions to be made in the. 473 , 475 

section 6 of act of March 3, 1869, modified as to the. 473 

number of majors in the, reduced. 476,477 

all appropriations under, to constitute one fund. 477 

vacancy in position of chief of the, how filled. 479 

officers of the, not to command in the line or other corps. 468,474 

disbursing officers of the, to renew their bonds. 469,475 

respecting command in the. 468 

to make payments to the Nurse Corps . . 439,478 

respecting details for duty in the. 478, 479 

mentioned. 478 479 

Paymaster-General {see Rank; Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized. 445,458, 459, 463, 465,469, 472, 473, 474, 476, 478 

how appointed. 472,475 

to give bonds and take the oath of office. 445 

appointed. 445, 446, 454 

appointment of, announced to the Army. 446 

duties of.322, 

446, 447,448, 449, 450,451, 452, 454, 455,456, 457, 464,465,469, 470,472 

to keep his office when Congress may sit... 452 

near headquarters of main army. 451, 459 

authorized to appoint his assistant and deputy. 455 

services of, united with those of commissioner of Army accounts. 457 

to frank and receive letters, etc., free of postage. 465 

{see Paymaster of the Army), 

to perform his duties under direction of the President. 460, 474 

ex officio Commissioner of Soldier’s Home. 470 

vacancy in position of, how filled... 479 

mentioned... 448,452, 453,454,455, 467 

assistant, authorized. 448,449 

appointed. 449 

deputy, authorized. 445, 452,461,468 

to take the oath of office. 445 

appointed. 446, 447, 448,453 

duties of. 446, 447,448, 449,450,451, 474 

allowed commission'on disbursements... 454 

respecting issue of small supply of shirts and linen to the. 304, 447 

authorized to appoint assistants. 445,449 
































































766 


INDEX. 


Pa ym aster-Generat.— Continned, Page. 

deputy, assistant, autliorized. 461 

respecting retention of. 463 

discharge of two, revoked. 469 

mentioned. 448 

Paymaster of the Army (.see Pay), 

authorized. 4.57, 460 

to give bonds. 458 

duties of. 457, 460, 463 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage. 460 

retained. 461 

mentioned. 463 

Paymasters (see Pay; Rations; Forage), 


appointed. 445 446,447,448 

to give bonds. 445 

hospital, to draw clothing. 381 

of regiments mentioned. 4.56 

Porps of Engineers attached to Pay Department. 466 

(.see District paymasters; Battalion paymasters), 

authorized to appoint clerks. 466,467, 475 

respecting officers of the line acting as. 467 

number of, reduced. 467, 473, 474, 476, 477 

discharged on reduction to receive three months’ pay. 468 

to be examined. 470, 471 

respecting settlement of accounts of. 473 

to issue deposit books to soldiers.-. 473,475 

how selected. 469,472 

mode of selection of, repealed.. 473 

additional, authorized. 466, 467, 468, 474 

may be retained...... 469,478 

to be examined. 470 

officers of the line may be assigned to duty as. 466 

(.see Retired list; Vacancies.) 

how appointed from civil life. 477 

respecting pay of military storekeepers designated as. 584 

mentioned.'. 27, 4-55, 469, 472, 478,549 

assistant, authorized. 445,449,455 

to give bonds. 448 

dejiuty, autliorized. 455 

appointed. 453 

allowed one wagon. 172,187,4.54,456 

mentioned. 449, 452 

Paymaster’s clerks (see Pay; Rations), 

authorized... 464, 467, 469, 470, 475 

Payments, 

respecting, of claims for .supplies furnished. 212 

for goods, etc., taken in Philadelphia. 293 

of extra pay for service in Mexican war. 469 

to sick and wounded soldiers. 470 

of bounty... 471, 472, 473, 474, 6.59, 660 

of claims of disloyal persons forbidden. 424, 472, 511, 686, 687 

to the Army, how made.. 445,455,460,461,462,463,474,475 

Nurse Corps, by whom made. 439,478 

Pay ROLLS, 

how made. 447 

Peabody,-, 

member of committee. 17 

mentioned. 17 

Peale, St. George, 

elected commissary of military stores in Maryland... 545 

mentioned. 533 

Peck, William, 

to do duty as brigade-major. 55 

appointed brigade-major. 55 

appointment of, as deputy adjutant-general, confirmed. 58 

Peers, Valentine, 

appointed brigade-major. 58 



























































INDEX. 


767 


Pelliser, Christopher, Page, 

appointed an engineer in the service of tlie United States 486 

Pemberton, Robert, 

appointed assistant adjutant-general. 64 

Pendleton, James Jauncey, 

pay and rations allowed to, as magazine keeper. 945 

Penet & Co., 

mentioned.;. 663 

Penet & Couloux, (Messrs.) 


contract with. '555 

mentioned.]!!!!!!” 555 

Penet, Winder & Co., 

mentioned. 555 

Penn, John, 

member of committee.:. 247 

appointed to visit hospitals. 376 

Pennsylvania, 

uniform of the, line. 15 

requested to authorize impressment of provisions in hands of engross¬ 
ers. 158,289 

requested not to grant exemptions from embargo. 289 

quota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

how paid for. 166,167 

provisions. 306, 313 

how paid for... ;. 307, 313 

when deliverable. 307,315 

wagons of the, line to be put in order. 180 

to request contribution of blankets, etc. 249 

requested to jiermit vessels to load with provisions for Eastern States_ 288 

furnish flour or wheat. 303 

cattle. 310 

lay up military stores, etc. 544 

impress arms in Philadelphia. 548 

to furnish one regiment of artificers. 562 

German prisoners of war to be removed to. 649 

mentioned. 145,155, 

252, 264, 271, 272, 279, 280, 287, 311, 367, 380, 381, 447,536, 545,546,562 

Pensacola Bay, 

erection of an arsenal on. 583 

Pension Bureau, 

respecting erection of a building for the. 227 

Pension laws, 

provisions of, applicable to the men in the several staff corps. 208, 


342, 413, 504, 586 


Pensions, 

respecting, to nurses... 

to men who served in the Revolutionary war. 

disabled officers of Provost-Marshal-Generars Bureau 
Pepper, 

army ration to include. 

Perry, Ebenezer, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk. 


... 435 

28, 29,409 
... 680 

. 346,351 

... 244 


Peruvian bark, 

to be sent to the Southern Department . 3b5, 5b/ 

Peters, Andrew, 

appointed brigade-major. 

Pettingill, Joseph, 

appointed brigade inspector. 

Pe-ftit, Charles, ip;a i 7 r 

appointed assistant quartermaster-general. 

permitted to resign. 

Philadelphia, . . 1 . i 1/17 

number of horses and oxen in, fit for service to be reported- oqq 

respecting goods, etc., seized in .... . 15^, 161, 290, 293 

magazines of provisions to be formed in or near. 

leaden spouts in, to be taken down for laboratory. 

18t250;367;522;544;545:550:570.In 















































768 


tndp:x. 


Philippines {see Badges), 

pay of officers in the, increased. 47 

mentioned. 233, 326 

Philips, 1’eter, 

elected commissary of hides. 263 

declined appointment. 265 

pay and rations of, as storekeeper. 244 

mentioned. 238, 265 

Phumekin, 

"mentioned. 383 

Physician and Surgeon (see Chief physician and surgeon), 

authorized. 366 

Physician and Surgeon-General (see Pay; Rations), 

authorized, duties of. 372,408 

appointed. 373,374 

entitled to draw clothing. 381 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage. 408 

mentioned. 380 

Physician-Generals (see Pay; Rations), 

authorized. 371, 403, 404 

appointed. 373,374,375 

duties of. 371,374,378,404 

Physician in Chief (see Director and physician in chief). 

Pickering, Timothy, 

elected quartermaster-general. 176 

continued as a member of the board of war. 176 

to have rank of colonel and the pay and rations of brigadier-general over 

and above pay of quartermaster-general. 176 

member of committee. 17 

appointed adjutant-general. 58 

mentioned. 17, 51, 69,140,176 

Pierce, John, 

elected deputy paymaster-general. 453 

paymaster-general. 454 

mentioned. 443 

Pike,-, 

to superintend military hospital at Williamsburg. 395 

Pike, Zebulon M., 

mentioned. 52,86 

Pioneers, 

corps of, to be raised. 184 

Pittsburg, Pa., 

mentioned. 195,585 

Plan, 

of the inspecting and mustering department. 96 

for conducting the inspectors’ department. 100 

respecting, for an artillery yard. 544 

Platt,-, 

appointed division inspector. 100 

Platt,-, 

mentioned. Ig 2 

Platt, Richard, 

to do duty as brigade-major. 55 

mentioned. 55 

Poe, David, 

appointed quartermaster for the town of Baltimore. 153 

Points Capistrans and Duma, 

mentioned. 524 

PoNTONiERs {see Engineer soldiers). 

Poor, Enoch, 

mentioned... . 60, 62, 89,'95 

Pork {see Barrels), 

exportation of, prohibited. 251 

North Carolina to lay an embargo on all.280 

to be procured.] ” ] 282 

quotas of States to be furnished in. 312, 313,'314, 315 

may be received in lieu of flour........... ’ 31fl 

















































INDEX. 


' 769 


Portage Lake and River Improvement Company Can\l Page. 

mentioned. ' ’ co] 

Porter, Jabez, .. 

pay and rations allowed to, as magazine keeper. 245 

Porterfield, Robert, 

to do duty of brigade-major pro tempore. 61 

mentioned. 61 

Portland and Louisville Canal, 

mentioned.; 524 

Portmanteaus, 

respecting, furnished to officers. I 60 

Port Crford, Oreg., 

respecting harbor of refuge at. 594 

Porto Rico, . 

actual expenses only for travel to and from. 46 

pay of officers serving in, increased. 47 

Postage (see Letters), 

accounts for official, how paid. 681 

Post commissary-sergeants, 

commissary-sergeants to be known as. 357 

Post exchanges, 

respecting use of public buildings by. 230 

Postmaster (see R.\tions), 

allowance of transportation to the field. 172 

Post quartermaster-sergeants, 

authorized...•.. 228, 233 

duties and pay of. 229 

number of, increased. 232 

Posts, 

limiting expenditure on buildings at. 229 

respecting use of buildings by post exchanges. 230 

rations may be issued to Indians visiting. 341 

meteorological observations to be taken at. 014,616 

Post surgeons, 

authorized. 409 

garrison surgeons and mates considered as. 689 

Potomac River, 

mentioned. 397 

Poto.mac waterworks, 

to be placed in charge of an engineer officer... 506 

supervision of the, transferred to Department of the Interior. 509 

Potts, Jonathan, 

to be employed as physician and surgeon. 366 

elected deputy director-general of hospital in Northern Department.. 374 

mentioned.. 369,378 

Powder (see Gunpowder), 

Powderhorns, 

horns of bullocks killed to be made into. 142, 242,538 

Powder magazines, 

precautions against fire in.•.. 566,567 

Powder mills, 

in State of New York to be put in order. 535 

colonies requested to erect. 540 

Precincts, 

construction of word, in enrollment act. 6/6 

Powell, John W., 

mentioned. 649 

Power, Alexander, . . 

commissioned quartermaster to the corps ot artillery artificers. 550 

Pratt, John, _ 

mentioned.- -.. .... 

President of the United States (see Clothing; Uniform), 

authorized to make calls for military service. .. 6/0 

assign to districts number of men to be furnished.^ 668 

make recess appointments. 25,68, 

70, 71,105,107,109,193,195,199,335,403,407,462,466,614 

S. Doc. 229-49 










































770 


INDEX. 


Preston, Will, 

commissioned second lieutenant of artillery artificers. 549 

Price, J., 

elected deputy commissary-general for the army in Canada. 243 

Price, William, 

member of committee. 544 

Prices, 

States requested to adopt a temporary regulation of. 153, 274, 550 

furnish list of, current in 1774. 305 

standard of, for medical stores to be established. 398 

Priming, 

improvement in mode of, to be applied to old or new arms. 588 

Princeton, N. J., 

quartermaster’s stores in, to be removed. 152 

Printing, 

respecting, of reports of heads of bureaus. 31,41 

cost of public, not to exceed allotment. 44 

Printing office (see Government Printing Office). 

Prison (see Military prison). 

Prisoners of war (see Commissary of prisoners), 

respecting provisions for. 275, 

278, 290, 291, 299, 300, 322, 640, 641, 642, 643, 647, 648, 651 

hospital for sick. 391 

exchange of. 642, 643, 644, 645, 649, 650, 651 

pay of officers and men made. 645 

removal of. 649 

Spanish, in New York. 645 

governor of Virginia to superintend camp for, in that State. 160 

may be furnished for work in lead mines. 549, 641 

log barracks to be provided for, in Virginia. 640 

captqred by French fleet, how provided for. 642 

sailors on board captured ships considered as. 640 

all, of the Saratoga convention to be removed to Virginia. 643 

on parole to pay their own expenses. 647 

President to make regulations for safekeeping of. 651 

mentioned... 280, 394, 639, 640, 642, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649 

Produce (see Provisions), 

conditional exportation of, authorized. 536, 539, 690 

Professors, 

at the Military Academy authorized. 497,498 

Projectiles, 

respecting experiments in high explosive... 601 

IhiOMOTioNS (see Examination; Vacancy), 

power of, reserved by Congress.. 11 

in staff of the Army how made. 31,39 

transfers to the stafl to be without prejudice to, in the line. 30, 39, 98 

to cease in the Army after June 18, 1878 . 42 

to be by seniority. 44, 81,117,134, 206 

no new, to be made in staff corps or departments. 77, 

78,112,113, 114, 219, 224, 349,425,473, 475, 511, 593,597 

law forbidding, repealed. 78,115, 222, 350, 428, 513, 595 

after fourteen years’ service authorized. 210, 506, 514, 588 

in Corps of Engineers above rank of colonel forbidden. 512 

restriction on, in Corps of Engineers repealed. 519 

engineer officer to have served three years in grade before. 527 

Providence, R. I., 

mentioned.■.. 59, 571 

Providence Hospital, 

expenditure of appropriations for, by whom controlled. 425 

mentioned. 425 

Providence Plantations, 

mentioned. 449, 535, 635 

Provisions, 

magazines of, to be inspected. 87, 253 

formed. 242, 245, 250, 29i, 310, 324 

respecting, for forces bn Lake Champlain .. 239 

issue of, to hospitals. 267, 370, 376 

members of Congress. 269 


















































INDEX. 


771 


Page. 


PRovisioNs^ontinued. ^ 

respecting of, issue of, for prisoners of war. 278, 291, 640 641 644 

^ . the people of the Eastern States.’ ’ ’ ’288 

exportation of, prohibited. "' 94 ^‘ 9 «a 9 cq 

importation of, authorized. . ’ ’ 950 

(see Beef; Rice; Vegetables.) . 

respecting, for the Northern Army. 246 

various commands.248,' 286,' 290, 643 

impressment of, authorized ______ 268 273 276 289 

purchase of, authorized.. ’ ’ ’ 9 qq 

(see Prices.) 

to be furnished the French squadron. 287 289 

quotas of, to be furnished by the States.. 304, 366,'367,'368,'3i2,‘3i3,’3i4, 315! 316 
contracts for and purchases of, how made. 328 

mentioned. 249, 258, 259, 260, 26i, 277,'286,'28i,'289,*292,'322,'371,454 

Provost-Marshal-(1eneral (see Rank; Pay), » > > > 

authorized. g 0 y 

duties of. . 667,*670,*676, 679 

mentioned. QQg 009 

Provost-Marshal-General’ s Bureau, ' ’ 

respecting continuance of the. 680 

Provost-marshals {see Baggage wagons; Forage), 

authorized. 007 

of -.'667,673 

disabled m line of duty entitled to pension. 680 

mentioned. 674,678 

Property (see Public property). 

Publications, 

sale of surplus, of the Signal Office. 615,616 

Public buildings and grounds (see Commissioner of Public Buildings and 
Grounds). 

Public library (see Washington Public Library), 

Public park, 

respecting establishment of a, in District of Columbia. 524 

Public property (see Superintendent of finance), 

respecting returns of. 176,177, 230, 326, 354, 435,526, 603 

sale of. 178 

accountabilit)^ for, of the Signal Corps. 621 

expenditures for improving, in Washington City, by whom controlled ... 511 

board to examine classes and kinds of, in the Signal Service. 623,624 

Public stores (see Hospital; Military; Subsistence stores), 

respecting removal of. 147,152,155, 369, 376 

issues of, to members of Congress. 153,157,166, 269 

payment of certificates given for purchase of. 160,177,178, 309 

waste or embezzlement of, how punished.".. 177, 308, 383,561 

returns of, to be made. 190,326,401 

mentioned. 12, 

153, 212, 231, 240, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260,331,403, 492,550, 568, 575 
Public supplies (see Superintendent of finance; Commissary-general of 
purchases; Purveyor of public supplies), 

respecting necessary, to be procured. 145 

States to be called on to furnish their quotas of. 165 

respecting allowance to contractors for furnishing. 191 

contracts for, how made. 193, 228, 331, 338,402, 403,571,575 

respecting returns and accounts of. 199, 200,407 

proposals for.214, 217 

miscellaneous issues of. 220 

mentioned.200, 214, 215, 216, 223, 224, 225, 339, 356,657, 686, 687, 689 

Puget Sound, 

mentioned. 524 

Pulaski, Casimir, 

mentioned. 59,451 

Purcell, Henry, 

appointment of, as deputy judge-advocate, confirmed. 124 

Purchasing Department, 

how organized. 337 

mentioned. 204,339,340 

abolished. 206 















































772 


INDEX. 


I’uRCHASES (see Board of War; Board of War and Ordnance; Commissary- 
General OF Purchases; Clothier-General), 

respecting agents of States for making... 155 

discontinued in States undertaking to furnish their quotas.. 165,167, 304 

of wheat for forage not to be made. 159, 288 

how made... 174,191,193,196, 208, 209, 225, 228, 331, 

332, 343, 344, 352, 402, 403,406, 415, 431, 507, 508,571, 575, 589, 599 

respecting certificates given for, made. 160,177,178, 309 

returns of, to be made. 178 

(see Superintendent of Finance; Pric’es; Ordnance; Ordnance 
Stores. ) 

respecting, of patented firearms. 209, 343, 507, 589 

miscellaneous, in Philadelphia authorized. 249 

under $200 may be made in open market. 230, 435, 526, 603, 624 

of land by freedmen. 656 

mentioned. 199, 200, 213, 215, 216, 223, 255, 350, 432, 590 

Putnam, Israel, 

mentioned... 250, 269, 272, 545 


Putnam, Rufus, 

appointed engineer with rank of colonel. 486 

appointment announced to the army. 486 

mentioned. 483 


Purveyor of public supplies, 

authorized.:. 

duties of. 

salary of. 

mentioned. 

office of, abolished. 


. 329,402,573 

193, 331,403, 573, 575 

. 496,499 

. 192,331,403 

. 335 


Q. 

Quartermaster-General (see Rank; Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage 
wagons), 

authorized. 141,156,167,186,193,194,195, 200, 202, 203, 204, 218, 222, 223,233 

appointed. 141,144,145, 156,175,176 

appointment of, announced to the army. 144 

to take the oath of office. 141 

how appointed. 196, 219, 224 

to give bonds. 199 

duties of. 99,142,143,144,145,147,148,150,151,152,153,154,155,157, 

158, 160,161,162,163,164,165,169,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180, 
181, 182,186,188,189,190,195,196,197,198, 204, 206, 213, 214, 215, 217, 
221, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 232, 240, 242, 321, 387, 451, 540, 552 

may be taken from the line. 201 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage. 183,197, 201, 205 

entitled to benefits under the Yorktown capitulation... 19 

retained. 202 

President may designate an officer to act as. 205 

ex officio commissioner of Soldiers’ Home. 208, 228 

vacancy in grade of, how filled. 234 

mentioned. 90,141,142,144,145,147, 

148, 149,150,151,152,156,157,158,159,162,163,169,170,171,172,176, 
179, 181, 182, 183, 184,189,190,197,198, 204, 208, 211, 224, 230, 253, 258 

assistant, authorized. 156,167, 206, 218, 222, 223, 233 

appointed. 141,143,176 

duties of. 150,156,158,168,169 

mentioned... 176,194 

office of, abolished. 182 

deputy, authorized. 141,143, 

151,152,154,167,176,183,186,194,199, 200, 202, 206, 218, 222, 223, 233 

appointed. 143,144,152,180 

to take the oath of office. 141,154 

duties of. 143 

144,145,151,152,153,154,155,158, ioo, 1*67,180,'i82,*200, 24i 

entitled to benefits under Yorktown capitulation. 19 

receiving commi.ssions not entitled to pay or rations. 162 

may be taken from the line. 201 

retained. 202 


















































INDEX. 


773 


Quartermaster-General—C ontinued. 

[deputy] {see Vacancies), Page. 

mentioned. 142,149,150,151,158 

assistant, authorized. 156,199, 200 

appointed. 144,147 

duties of. 150 

may be taken from the line. 201 

mentioned. 156,208 

Quartermaster-General’s Office, 

divisions established in the. 212, 213, 214 

Quarter.master of the Army (,sre Fay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized. 191 

Quartermasters Rank; Fay; Rations; Forage; Baggage wagons), 

authorized. 194, 204, 207, 217, 218, 222, 223, 231, 232, 233, 492 

appointed. 152,153, 550 

duties of. 150, 153, 154,184,196, 202, 215, 217, 223, 568 

discharge of, revoked. 208 

to be examined. 211, 212 

mentioned. 154,160 

district, not to be taken from the line. 201 

assistant, authorized. 195, 202, 204, 206, 207, 218, 222,231, 233 

how appointed. 196 

appointed. 146 

to give bonds. 196 

duties of. 146,196, 204, 223 

discharge of, revoked. 208 

to be examined.. 211, 212 

{see Vacancies.) 

chief of division ambulance corps to be acting. 422 

mentioned. 206 

deputy, authorized. 175,176,186,195 

how appointed. 196 

appointed. 143,147 

to give bonds. 199 

duties of. 150,158,180,196,450 

mentioned. 197,450 

Quartermaster’s Department {see Board of War; Committees of Congress), 

respecting new arrangement of the. 155,156 

how constituted.. 167,186,195, 200, 202, 203, 204, 218, 222, 223, 232, 233 

increased. 206, 207, 208, 210, 231,232 

inquiry to be made into conduct of officers of the. 160,163 

all officers of the, to take the oath of office. 175,188 

give bonds. 202 

respecting settlement of business of the late. 183 

report on operations of the. 1^0 

(.sw Contracts; Furchases; Vacancies.) 

corps of artificers attached to the. 198 

all appointments in the, to be made from the Army. 206 

duties of purchasing department devolved upon officers of the. 206 

promotions to rank of major in the, how made. 207 

inspectors of the, how selected. 207 

strict inspection of the, to be made. .. 21 / 

no new appointments or promotions to be made m the. 2iy 

respecting appointments and promotions in the.- 222 

details for duty in the.-. 233, 23-1 

appointments to grade of captain in the, how umle . "^'^'^152 

mentioned. 

215| 216i 217, 220, 221, 222, 223,224,225, 228,229, 230, 231,232,233 

Quarters {see Rations), , i. n e oo 

officers absent exceeding six months not entitled to allowance tor. 3^ 

pay of officers to be in full of commutation of. oo'lnAO 990 

may be furnished in kind. 38,40, 42, 220 

when commutation of, allowed.'' * l-V,‘ j*: ’' •' V • i. 9 n« 

storekeepers of Quartermaster’s Department entitled to, m kind. 208 

superintendents of national cemeteries to be furnished.. 220, 226 

limitation to cost of construction of.*. 

nurses entitled to. 



























































774 


INDEX. 


Quarters—C ontinued. _ . 

respecting commutation of, to officers and men in arctic regions. 690 

claims of, for servants not allowed. 684 

mentioned. 209, 220,223, 226, 229,343, 344 

Quebec, _ 

mentioned. 

Quotas, 

States to be called on to furnish their, of supplies. 165, 304 

of States to be furnished in forage.- 166 

provisions. 306,307 

mentioned. 165, 304 

respecting, of men for military service. 670, 072, 677, 678, 679, 680 

R. 

Railroad, 

respecting, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. 506 

Ramsay, George D., 

mentioned. 564 

Randolph, Edmund, 

appointed deputy muster-master-general for the Southern Department— 632 

authorized to appoint two deputies. 632 

Rank, 

of officers of the Adjutant-Generars Department. 53, 

55, 60, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 

Inspector-General’s Department. 87, 89,90,92, 96,100,102, 

103,104,105,106,108,109,110,112,113,114,115,116,117,118 

Judge-Advocate-General’s Department..... 123, 

124,128,129,130,132,133,134,135 

Bureau of Military Justice. 131,132 

Quartermaster’s Department. 141,143,144, 

145,147,151,152,191,193,194,196, 201,203, 204, 206, 
207, 210, 211, 216, 217, 218, 219, 222, 223, 231, 232, 233 

Subsistence Department. 338, 339, 

340, 341, 342, 344, 345, 346, 348, 349, 350, 355, 356, 357 

Medical Department. 416, 

417,418, 410, 423, 424, 427, 428,429, 436,437 

Pay Department. 469, 472, 473,474,478 

Corps of Engineers. 485,486,487, 488,489, 

490, 491, 494, 495, 406, 497, 509, 510, 513, 526, 527, 529t 

Corps of Topographical Engineers. 499, 502 

Ordnance Department. 548, 577, 

578, 579, 583, 584, 58(), 500,591,592, 594,596, 604, 605 

Signal Corps. 613, 614, 616, 618, 623, 624, 625, 626 

Volunteer Signal Corps. 625 

Department of Musters. 633, 635 

Provost-Marslial-General’s Bureau. 667,677 

respecting, of hospital surgeons. 366, 399 

of medical officers, how arranged.413, 433 

no, annexed to officers in Department of Military Stores. 552 

appointments on civil staff confer no, in the Army. 635 

mentioned. 185, 323, 416, 434, 456, 494, 566, 650 

Rapalje,-, 

mentioned. 364 

Rations (see Subsistence money; Subsistence stores), 

allowance of, to general and line officers.. 11, 20, 25, 67, 70, 240, 243, 332, 406, 681 

officers of the Adjutant-General’s Department. 56, 

60,61, 64, 65,66, 67,68, 70, 71, 74 

Inspector-General’s Department. 90, 

92, 94,96,104,105,106 

J udge-Advocate-General’s Department_ 124, 

125,126,127,128 

Department of Stores and Supplies. 248 

Purchases. 262,304,305,317 

Issues. 262 

Hides. 298 

Militarv Stores. 551, 

552,557,561,562,566,567 











































INDEX. 


775 


Rations— Continued. 

allowance of, to officers of the Clothier’s Department. 248, 267, 296 323 

Quartermaster’s Department... 146,’l62,183 ’l84 
AT 1^8,199, 208, 324 

Medical Department. 373, 388, 397, 399, 400, 

,, -101,402,405,406,407,408,411 

1 ay Department. 446, 447, 449,455,458,459 

Corps ot Engineers. 486,492, 497 

Ordnance Department. 577^ 579 

Department of Musters.].. ’633 

Prisoners of War_ 639, 650, 651 

corps of artihcers. ^^54 493 

artillery artificers. 550’ 553 

geographer .!!!.! i i ii494; Sl 

paymaster’s clerks. 47O 

superintendents of armories. 575 581 

superintendent of bakers.].253 28l’ 318 

company of bakers.’ ’_’ ’ 281 

sappers and miners. 504 

topographical engineer soldiers. 509 

master armorers.575 534 

hospital stewards. !!!”.. 411 

wagon masters." ] ]' igs,' i97,324 

conductors. 189,324 

forage masters. 197,*206, 224^ 324 

artificers of Quartermaster’s Department. 324 

engineers. 497 

wagoners. i61,163 

matrons. 332,423,431,689 

nurses. 332,417,431, 439, 689 

employees of Department of Stores and Supplies. 244, 245 

Ordnance Department. 549, 577, 581 

established. 240 

241, 242, 285, 295,305, 328, 329, 330, 331, 333, 344,*345,'346,’35l','688, 689 

President authorized to make alterations in. 338 

commutation price of. 11, l-l, 16, 26, 31,35, 242, 26i, 333, 450, 451 

(see Rum; Coffee; Sugar; Pepper), 

no officer to draw more than one. 14 

compensation allowed for neglect to draw. 21 

officers’ servants entitled to. . 17, 25, 28 

one extra, allowed for every regimental coat turned. 22 

additional, for every five years’ service. 29, 36,412 

back, not allowed. 30 

to disabled officers when retired. 32 

officers in the field permitted to purchase. 35, 39 

increased commutation of, when not allowed.1. 36 

pay'of officers to be in full of longevity. 37 

respecting purchase of, on credit. 35, 41, 687 

half a, allowed for cutting wood for hospitals. 190 

of soap may be increased. 265 

cost of each part of a, to be computed... 277 

commanders of armies to determine, to be issued. 288 

of flour reduced. 300 

officers to be furnished two, per day. 311 

not to draw, on public account. 322 

respecting contracts made for supplying. 327, 328 

to troops on the frontiers augmented. 329, 330, 352 

officers’ servants not soldiers .. 333 

detachments of seamen and marines. 337 

various issues of, authorized. 341, 348, 349, 350, 353, 354, 355, 356 

payment of commutation of, to prisoners of war. 348 

vegetables added to the. 354 

respecting, for released prisoners of war. 642, 644 

prisoners of war. 643, 645 

mentioned. 17, 

19, 20, 21, 56, 58, 98, 184, 227, 245, 249, 252, 260, 261,272, 287, 296, 306, 
311, 322, 323, 324, 325, 382, 397, 398, 405, 455,471, 475, 566, 591, 634, 640 
Rawhides (see Commissary of hides), 

respecting manufacture of shoes from. 270,274 





























































776 


INDEX. 


Reading, Pa., 

respecting escape of prisoners of war from. 650 

Rebellion (see Badges; Uniform), 

modified oath for those who participated in late... 682 

Confederate oflEicers not eligible to appointment in the Army. 683 

Recruiting agents, 

respecting, in the Southern States. 677,680 

Recruits, 

not subject to draft, how credited. 680 

Red coats, 

officers forbidden to wear. 19 

Reed, George, 

member of committee. 540 

mentioned. 160 

Reed, Joseph, 

elected adjutant-general. 55 

appointment announced. 55 

mentioned. 3,51 

Reed, Thomas, 

appointed assistant paymaster-general. 449 

elected deputy paymaster-general at Albany.*.. 453 

mentioned. 453 

Reed, William, 

elected hospital physician. 394 

Reedy Island, Pa., 

respecting dike between, and Sistons Point. 526 

Refugees (see Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen), 

respecting issue of provisions and fuel to. 655 

medical stores, etc., to. 657 

lands set apart for use of. 656 

Regimental surgeons, 

respecting, and mates absent without leave. 372 

mentioned. 373 

Regiments (see Uniform), 

commanders of, not to muster their own c‘ommands. 98 

to report health of their troops. 369 

members of, to receive an extra ration for every coat turned. 22 

respecting colors of.^. 143 

transportation of tents of. 187 

surgeons of volunteer. 413 

not belonging to any State line. 395 

to send officers to buy arms. 538,539 

respecting requisitions for arms, etc., for. 568 

mentioned. 391,456,559 

Register (see Army Register). 

Regnier,-, 

appointed subinspector. 94 

assigned to Generals Clinton’s and Stark’s brigades. 94 

Regulations (see General Regulations), 

for the exercise of the troops... 90, 92,96 

muster and inspection. 96 

to be approved by Congress. 99 

commissary and clothier’s departments^.. 286 

department of hides. 285, 297 

military stores. ’ 552 

Quartermaster’s Department. 155 , 157 ,186 

Corps of Engineers. ’ 490 

Ordnance Department.581 ,597 

corps of wagoners. 161, i62, 45 li 635 

government of hospitals. 404, 405 

issue of artificial limbs. ’ 425 

relative to prisoners of war. 651 

mentioned.*91,*93, 677 

Remick, Timothy, 

to do duty of inspector. 100 

Rent, 

of buildings in Virginia and at Philadelphia and West Point. 571 

land set apart for refugees and freedmen. 656 





















































INDEX. 


777 


Repairs, Page. 

to old Ford’s Theater. 525 

house in which Mr. Lincoln died. 528 

Reports, 

by officers of the Adjutant-General’s Departnu'iit. 55 

department of purchases and issues. 245 

clothier’s department. 32h 

Quartermaster’s Department. 143 

Hospital Department. 368 

Ordnance Department. 578, 580,596 

dei^artrnent of musters. 632 

Signal Office. 614,616 

Bureau of Freedmen and Refugees. 656 

colonels of regiments. 369 

on condition of the branches of the War Department. 190, 

327, 328, 457,569, 570, 571 

mentioned. 451,675,676 

Resignation, 

officers leaving their post prior to acceptance of, deemed deserters. 32, 33 


Resistance, 

to draft, how punished. 673 

Resolves of Congress, 

repealed. 20, 65, 96,127,162,184,186, 318, 321, 323, 379, 397, 455, 566, 567 

in part.-. 64,102,183, 389, 567 

relative to the government of the Army to be compiled. 14 

Hospital Department to be revised. 382 

mentioned. 681, 382, 397, 451, 455, 565 

Retired list {see Pay; R.-vtions; Uniform), 

officers may be placed on the, after 30 years’ service. 37,39 

40 years’service. 32,39 

45 years’ service. 34,39 

on reaching the age of 64. 42 

pavmasters may be placed on the, after 20 years’ service. 476 

officers on the, may be assigned to certain duties. 32 

entitled to longevity rations... 36 

not to be assigne<i to duty.. ^ 36 

eligible for duty at the Soldiers’ Home. 37, 40 

disabled for active service to be placed on the . 32, 39 

by wounds to be placed on the, with highest rank. 35 

to be placed on the, with actual rank. 38 

on the, withdrawn from promotion. 

may be employed in time of war. 45 

eligible to Territorial offices. "35 

rea,«.ting officers on the, who had served as 


l)y the Secretary of War. '*‘^1 

officers of the Adjutant-General’s Department."o,"/ 

Inspector-General’s Department.3 i T 1 • oVq 

department of stores and supplies. 245, Mb 249 

purchases. 260, 284, 303, 305, 309, 312, .>36 

issues. 

military stores. 568, 569 

hides.- olo’ 

clothiers’ department. 

Hospital^Dei^rhnent....^.^,....^^^.^ 


Pay Department. 


446 


Quartermaster’s Department. 

^ 161,166,169,172,174,176,176,178,183,188,190, 200,318 

Ordnance Department. 

department of musters.333'313 c ’a 17 

prisoners of war. 639, 642, 645, 647 

respecting uniformity of, under contracts .. 419, 432, 509, 517, 590^59/, 686 , 687 

States to make, of purchases for the United States. 

by line officers receiving camp and garrison equipage. 

mentioned. -2gj-2g8,'259,'&,'4M,'49i,'49i'526,’55i,'55S,'565,‘568;6()3,634,686,687 

























































778 INDEX. 

Reviews, 

how conducted. 88 , 100,101 

Revised Statutes, 

provision of section 355 of the, waived. 232 

section 229 abolished... 230 

1144 mentioned. 622 

1194 repealed. 474 

1206 and 1207 mentioned. 623 

1218 amended. 685 

1348 amended. 115 

1756 repealed. 685 

1860 amended. 685 

Revolutionary war {see Badges). 

Reward, 

for best covering for huts... 154 

rawhide substitute for shoes. 274 

Rhode Island, 

uniform of the line. 15 

quota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

how paid for. 166 

provisions. 306, 312 

how paid for. 307, 312 

when deliverable. 307,314 

requested to collect saltpeter and brimstone. 535 

mentioned..58,154,164, 278, 449, 635 

Rice, 

importation of, authorized. 250 

quota of South Carolina to be furnished in.. 307 

how paid for. 307 

Rice, Nathan, 

appointed inspector. 95 

Richardson, James, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk. 244 

Richardson, William, 

mentioned. 264,634 

Rickman, William, 

elected director of hospital in Virginia. 365 


Rifles, 

to be procured.'_ 546, 547 

respecting adoption of new. 602, 603 

Ripley, James W., 

mentioned. 534 

,Risberg, Gustavus, 

appointed assistant to Deputy Quartermaster-General Biddle. 144 

Rittenhouse, -, 

mentioned. 485 

Rivers, 

respecting surveys of, and harbors. 519, 522 

Roads (see Cumberland road; National road), 

respecting surveys, etc., upon the subject of. 500 

to be cut in Florida. 501 

contracted in Arkansas. 501 

Roberdeau, Daniel, 

member of committee. 253 

Roberdeau Isaac, 

mentioned. 484 

Robinson, 

mentioned. 65 

Robinson, Caleb, 

to do the duty of inspector. 100 

Rochefontaine, Stephen, 

mentioned. 483 

Rochester, William B., 

mentioned. 443 

Rock Island, III., 

an arsenal established at. 59 I 















































INDEX. 


779 


Rock Island Arsenal, 

mentioned. 

Rodney, C^sak, . 

member of committee. 

Roe, James, . 

appointed deputy commissary-general of purchases 

Roe, Jesse, . 

commissioned captain of artillery artificers. 

Rogers, John, 

member of committee. 

Rolls (see Pay; Muster rolls). 

Root, Jesse, 

mentioned. 

Rosekrans, James, 

to do the duty of brigade inspector. 

Ross,-, 

mentioned. 

Ross, George, 

member of committee. 

mentioned. 

Rubs AMEN, Jacob, 

mentioned. 

Rucker, Daniel H., 

mentioned... 

Ruddock, John, 

appointment of, as deputy commissary of military stores, confirmed 
Rudolph, Michael, 

mentioned. 

Ruggles, George B., 

mentioned. 


Page. 
. 524 

239, 53() 

- 265 

. 549 

- 538 


102, 163, 298 

. 96 

. 63 

... 247,249 
... 146,250 

. 566 

. 140 

. 568 

.51,85 

. 52 


Rules and Articles of War {see Articles ok War). 

Rum, 

issue of, to troops in battle of Brandywine... 268 

to be procured. 278 

for distribution to the people of New York... 300 

. quotas of States to be furnished in. 306, 307, 312,313 

how paid for. 307 

when deliverable. 314,315 

regulating issue of, to the Army. 310 

mentioned. 333 

Rumsey, Benjamin, 

member of committee. 255 


Rush, Benjamin, 

member of committee.. 246, 367 

elected surgeon-general of hospital in middle department. 373 

physician-general of hospital in middle department. 375 

resignation accepted. 376 

mentioned. 361,366,375,378 

Rutgers, Jr., Henry, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of musters. 635 

Rutledge, Edward, 

member of committee. 540 

Ryan, Michael, 

to do duty as brigade major. 58 

relieved from temf)orary duty as adjutant-general. 58 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 


S. 


Sabine Lake, 

channel through, to be reexamined. 528 

Sackett, Delos B., 

mentioned. 8^ 

Sacramento River, Cal., 

relative to improvement of the. 526 








































780 


INDEX. 


Saddle horses, 

number of, allowed general and line officers. 187,188,189, 494 

officers of the Adjutant-General’s Department.. 65,188,189 
Inspector-General’s Department. 102,188,189 

Quartermaster’s Department- 174,188,189 

department of purchases. 817 

military stores... 188, 567, 568 

prisoners. 188,189 

hospital department. 189, 899, 400 

judge-advocates. 127,188,189 

deputy paymaster. 188,456 

geograpliers. 189,495 

provost-marshal. 188 

captain of engineers. 188,494 

mentioned. 90,103 

Saddlers, 

attached to division ambulance corps. 422 

St. Augustine, Fla., 

respecting improvement of harbor at. 522 

St. Clair, Arthur, 

mentioned. 20, 51, 56, 57,100 

St. Francis River, Ark., 

mentioned. 501 

St. Louis, Mo., 

quartermaster depot at, mentioned. 217 

arsenal to be erected at or near. 582 

proposed ice harbor at. 519 

bridge to, over Mississippi River. 526 

St. Martin,-, 

appointed engineer with rank of lieutenant-colonel. 486 

Sale, 

imauthorized, of public stores, how punished. 150,177, 808, 383, 561 

respecting, of articles of clothing. 142, 221, 241 

goods taken from Philadelphia. 161, 298 

horses unfit for service. 172 

buildings and other property. W 8 

dragoon horses. 190 

public property no longer needed. 190, 826, 400, 568 

unserviceable stores. 204, 260, 839, 840, 410, 582, 593 

woolen goods to soldiers. 240 

subsistence supplies to officers and men. 854, 685, 687 

articles kept by Subsistence Department. 85, 849, 351, 684 

smooth-bore guns for experimental purposes. 601 

surplus signal maps, etc. 615, 616 

certain property of bureau of refugees, etc. 662 

of certain stores stopped. 569 

mentioned. 505, 587 

Salisbury, Conn., 

respecting furnace at... 543,544, 549 

Salt, 

respecting manufacture of. 289, 252, 262 

importation of, authorized. 243, 261,271, 278 

exportation of, prohibited. 251 

to be provided. 254, 260, 275 

quotas of States to be furnished in. 806, 307, 312, 813 

how paid for. 307, 312, 313 

when deliverable.314, 315 

mentioned. 262, 272, 275 

Saltpeter, 

colonies requested to collect. 535 

respecting manufacture of. 535, 537, 538, 539, 540, 566 

importation of, authorized. 536, 690 

purchase of, authorized. ’538 

exportation of, prohibited. 573 

mentioned. 540,690 

San Monica Bay, Cal., 

respecting a deep-water harbor on. 525 





















































INDEX. 


781 


SaxV Pedro Bay, Cal., 

relative to proposed deep-water harbor on 
Sappers and miners {see Pay; Rations) 
authorized.’ 

uniform of corps of.]'. 

corps of, how organized. 

respecting tools, implements, etc., for! . 

mentioned. 

Saratoga convention {see Prisoners of war).. 

Sargent, Wintrop, 

mentioned. 

Sauerkraut, 

contracts to be made for supplies of. 

Sawtelle, Charles G., 

mentioned. 

Scam.MELL, Alexander, 

to continue to do duty as brigade major. 

appointed temporary assistant to the adjutant-generaL 

elected adjutant-general. 

mentioned. ]!!!!!”*” 

School of instruction, 

respecting, at Fort ^lyer, Va. 

School buildings, 

respecting sale of, under Bureau of Refugees and Freedrnen 
Schreiber, Jacob, 

permitted to return to Europe. 

Schuyler, Peter, 


Page. 

. 525 

. 489,498,503 

. 18,21 

. 492 

. 504 

490, 493, 495, 504,505 


. 51,85 

.. 265 

. 140 

. 53 

. 56 

59 

5i,'62,'i00, 395 

. 620 

. 662 

. 493 


appointment of, to take charge of the arms, confirmed. 539 

Schuyler, Philip, 

member of committee. 17 535 

to appoint a deputy adjutant-general for the Northern armv if General 

Gates had not done so^.j. 58 

to appoint a deputy judge-advocate if General Gates had not done so... ” 124 

mentioned- 17, 53, 54,142,143, 240, 241, 242,248, 252, 364, 537, 539, 543, 545, 632 

Sc'OTT, -, 


to do the duty of division inspector. 95 

mentioned. 95,100 

Scorr, Charles, 

mentioned. 55,57,89 

Scott, Joseph, 

appointed brigade major. 59 

Scott, Moses, 

appointed hospital iJiysician and surgeon. 389 

resignation accepted. 390 

mentioned. 395 

Scott, William, 

appointed brigade major. 62 

ScuDDER, Nathaniel, 

member of committee. 283,291 

mentioned.... 159,163, 298 

Scull, Peter, 

appointed brigade major. 54 

Sea coast, 

respecting notice on the, of approach of storms. 614 


Seamen, 

respecting enlistment of certain, prisoners of war. 642 

drafted,, may enlist in the naval service. 671, 672 

respecting issue of rations to detachments of. 337 

Searle, James, 

member of committee. 291 

Sears, Peter, 

commissioned .second lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers. 559 

Secretaries {see Pay), 

allowed to Inspector-General of main Army. 96,100,107 

Secretary of War, 

to inquire into delays in forwarding supplies. 185, 324 

make return to Congress of officers in Quartermaster’s Department- 184 










































782 


INDEX. 


Secretary of War—C ontinued. 

to transmit to States a list of their officers. 23 

issue warrants for pay and rations. 20,455 

brevet commissions to specified class of officers. 23 

examine all estimates and returns. 20 

provide guards for safe conveyance of money, etc. 184 

prescribe kinds and amounts of supplies to be purchased. 200 

control all transportation. 210 

direct building and management of barracks, magazines, etc. 184, 565 

distribution of clothing. 323 

cause returns to be made of all stores and property... 326, 401, 569 

appoint a commissary of military stores subject to his orders. 567 

stop the sale of certain stores. 569 

submit returns of ordnance and ordnance stores. 569 

take direction and care of prisoners of war. 649,650 

mentioned. 21, 66,188,190, 

191, 323, 324, 396, 398,401, 455, 456, 489, 495, 566, 568, 570, 650, 651 
Secret committee (see Committees op Congress), 

to provide equipage for 3,000 horse :. 147 

deliver linen in their hands fit for tents. 148 

import certain enumerated goods and stores... 243 

cargoes of salt. 243 

stop exportation of salted provisions from New York. 245 

devise means of procuring deerskins. 246 

appoint trusty persons to purchase clothing. 250 

deliver part of cargo of the Mercury to the clothier-general. 252 

furnish clothier-general copies of invoices of all imported clothing, etc. 253 
enable agents in Europe and the West Indies to effect importation of salt. 261 

contract for converting flour into biscuits. 264 

import medical instruments and supplies. 365 

forward medical supplies, etc., to points indicated. 365 

contract for importation of military stores. 536, 537, 538 

export produce for importation of arms. 537, 539 

deliver saltpeter to be manufactured into gunpowder. 540 

powder to prove cannon. 540 

of secret correspondence, to apply for the use of one or more of the Conti¬ 
nental fleet. 540 

to furnish powder to cannon committee. 543 

deliver all arms, etc., in their care to the board of M^ar. 543 

distribute cargo of flints. 543 

procure brass artillery. 544 

arms for 3,000 horse. 544 

reports of. 146, 543 

Seeds, 

respecting, for regimental gardens. 326 

Seely, T., 

appointed brigade-major. 60 

Selman,-, 

to do the duty of brigade-major. 62 

mentioned. 62 

Senter, Isaac, 

mentioned. 366 

Sentries, 

watch coats to be purchased for use of. 142 

Sergeant, Jonathan, 

member of committee. 540 

Sergeant, Jonathan D., 

mentioned. 124 

Sergeant, Samuel, 

commissioned superintendent of public works at Carlisle. 549 

pay of. 549 

Sergeants, 

master workmen to be designated as. 590, 596 

two signal, to be commissioned each year. 617, 619 

Servants {see Waiters), 

allowances to enlisted youths retained as. 17 

not to be furnished from the line without authority. 20 


*An old technical term meaning a body of cavalry. In this sense the word “horse” is in the singular. 























































INDEX. 


783 


Servants—C ontinued. 

r^pecting employment of and allowances for.. 27, 28, 34 , 36, 64,126 127 567 650 
officers absent exceeding six months not to receive allowaiu^es for ’ ’ w 

claims for quarters for, not allowed. . 

. 

Service*™' ** . 208,209,843,844,415,507,508,589 

length of, how computed. oa ,«oo 

Skwall,-L., ^ . -^6,438 

to do duty of brigade inspector. qq 

Shallops, ^ . 

impressment of, authorized. 270 

Shaw, Samuel, 

appointed brigade-major. kj 

Sheepskins, . 

to whom deliverable. 311 322 562, 565 

Shells, ’ ’ 

contracts for, to be made. . 54 O 554 550 

Sherman, Roger, 

mentioned. 142, 241, 253, 254 

Shetfall, Moruecai, 

appointed, provisionally, deputy commissary-general of issues. 291 

Ship canal, 

near Isthmus of Darien. 5 Q 6 

to connect certain lakes with Puget Sound. 524 

Shippen, William, Jr., 

elected physician for the flying camp. 366 

to superintend an army hospital in New Jersey... 368 

elected director-general of all the hospitals. 373 

director-general.. .•. 339 

mentioned... 36i, 362,'367,'368,'375,’383, 390 

Ships {see Vessels), 

duties of masters of, taking prisoners. 646 

mentioned.. 146, 240, 248, 286, 537,’541,*543,555 

Shiras, Alexander E., 

mentioned. 238 

Shirts {see Linen), 

respecting distribution of small supply of .... 125, 304, 382, 446, 447,491, 635, 636 

delivery of two, per man to be shortly made. 325 

on hand to be drawn for by lot. 325 

linen for, to be imported. 263 

States requested to procure materials for. 263 

supplies of. 275 

mentioned. 263, 285, 326, 376 

Shoes, 

to be inspected. 142 

exchange of rawhides for, authorized. 263 

reward for best rawhide substitutes for. 274 

leather and deerskins to be purchased for making. 274 

to be procured. 285 

States requested to procure supplies of. 275 

not to be worn in powder magazines. 567 

mentioned. 153,285,376 

Shot, 

contracts for, to be made. 554,560 

Sick, 

respecting transportation for the removal of the. 179 

blankets, etc., for the, in hospitals. 273 

care and accommodation for the. 369 

relief of the, before removal to hospitals. 380 

number of, in hospitals to be reported. 368, 390 

respecting relief of the transient. 390 

ambulances for the removal of the. 421 

mentioned. 422 

Signal Bureau, 

not to duplicate work of other bureaus. 618 

















































784 INDEX. 

% 

Signal Corps {see Volunteer Signal Corps; Vacancies), Page. 

how organized. 613, 623, 626 

enlistecl strength of the. 613, 615, 617, 618, 620, 621, 622, 623, 625 

officers and men of the, how selected. 614 

may purchase subsistence stores. 622 

enlisted men of the, may be mounted. 616 

held responsible for public property. 621 

two sergeants of the, to be commissioned each year. 617, 619 

respecting details of line officers for duty in the. 618, 619, 020, 321, 622 

civilian duties of the, transferred to AVeather Bureau. 622 

appointments and promotions in the, how made. 623 

appropriations for the, how made... 623 

board to examine classes and kinds of i)roperty of the. .*. 623 

in time of war enlisted strength of the, to be increased. 625 

ten volunteer subalterns to be apj)ointed in the. 626 

mentioned... 624, 626 

Signal flags, 

by whom furnished. 186 

Signal officers {see Vacancies), 

authorized. 613 

how selected. 614 

to be examined. 613 

engineer officers may be detailed as. 614, 616 

respecting detail of line officers for duty as. 618, 619, 620, 621, 622 

may be assigned to staff of Army corps. 625 

after civil war to be restored to respective commands. 614 

mentioned. 624, 626 

Signals, 

respecting, for benefit of agriculture and commerce. 614, 616 

of approach of storms on the lakes and seacoast. 614, 616 

Signal Service, 

respecting enlistments in the. 615 

details of engineer officers and men for the. 614, 616 

appropriations for the. 620 

commutation of quarters for members of the, in arctic regions . 690 

commission to consider present organization of the. 1 . 619 

Signatures {see Autograph signatures). 

Simms,-, 

to superintend the hospitals in Pennsylvania. .380 

Sioux City, Iowa, 

respecting improvement of the Alissouri River to. 528 

Skinner, Abraham, 

elected commissary-general of prisoners. (548 

mentioned. 637 

Slaves, 

respecting, drafted or enlisted... 675, 676 

Smith,-, 

appointed inspeidor. 95 

Smith,-, 

mentioned. I 45 

Smith, Campbell, 

mentioned. 121 

Smith, Daniel, 

appointed assistant deputy purveyoi. 395 

Smith, John K., 

appointed brigade-major. 60 

inspector. 89 

continued in the office of brigade-major. 66 

Smith, Johnson, 

commissioned contractor for public works at Carlisle, Pa. 549 

Smith, Mathew, 

appointed deputy adjutant-general. 59 

Smith, Jonathan B., 

elected deputy miistermaster-general for the fiying camp. 632 

mentioned. 1 . 254 632 

Smith, Meriwether, ’ 

member of commitLee. 14,15 




















































INDEX. 


785 


S M ITi I, AVILT, IA M, p,^gy 

(‘Oiiiinued as subinspt^ctor. qo 

Smith, William, . 

inemVier of committee. . 

Smith, William, . 

mentioned. 

Smith, William, 

elected druggist. 3<.7 

Smith, William S., 

appointed commissary of prisoners. 55 X 

Smyth, Alexander, 

mentioned. gg 

Soap, 

exportation of, forbidden. 251 

ration of, may be increased. 1 ...!! 265 

contracts to be made for supplies of. !!!!!!! 265 

Societies Military societies). 

Soldiers’ Home, 

retired officers eligible for duty at the. 37 

l)oard of commissioners of the, how composed. 75 

78, 79,133, 208, 228, 343, 352, 353,'414,*43^*433, 470 

respecting inspections of the. 114 

medical supplies to be sold to the, at cost. 436 

South, 

respecting issues of provisions to destitute })ersons in the. 661 

South Carolina, 

uniform of the, line. 15 

(piota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

how paid for. 166 

provisions. 307 

, when deliverable. 307 

purchase of leather in, authorized. 300 

requested to collect saltpeter and brimstone. 535 

mentioned. 124, 291, 382, 394, 395, 451, 452, 558, 571, 632, 635,648 

Southern Army, 

respecting appointment of staff officers for the. 17, 

103,127,183,186, 317, 392, 394,455,493,567, 644, 650 

magazines of forage to be provided for the. 179 

tents and wagons for the, to be furnished. 180 

corps of pioneers to be raised for the. 184 

resjiecting delays in sending supplies to the. 185, 324 

clothing, camp equipage, etc., to be furnished the. 318 

‘ to be provided with arms, powder, etc. 563 

respecting artificers with the. 563 

(tommander of, authorized to make exchanges. 644 

mentioned. 175,180,183,184,185,187,188,189, 392,455 

Southern Department, 

respecting appointment of staff officers. 54, 61, 62,143,159, 370, 395, 485, 631 

Peruvian bark to be sent to the. 365,367 

trepanning instruments to be sent to the. 365 

respecting hospitals in the... 389 

an inspector of contracts to be appointed for the. 398 

mentioned.. 448,491 

Southern States, 

a magazine of ammunition to be formed in the. 545 

respecting recruiting agents in certain. 677 

Spanish-American war, 

mentioned.-•. *18, 438, 686 

Spanish prisoners, 

respecting provision for the, in New York. 645 

Spenser, Joseph, 

Congress confirmed his appointment of William Peck as deputy adjutant- 

general .- 

mentioned. 53, 55, 56 

Spenser, Oliver, 

to superintend hospitals in Jersey. 383 

mentioned. 390, 493 

S. Doc. 229- 


-59 
















































786 


INDEX. 


Spirits, 

respecting allowance of coffee and sugar in lieu of 


Spoons, 

to be supplied to the soldiers. fbS/ 

Spouts (see Leaden spouts). 

Springfield, Mass., 

magazine and laboratory to be erected in. 547 

mentioned. 560, 565, 570, 571,572 

Springfield Armory, 

mentioned.. 581,584, 585, 502 

Sprogle, Lodowig, 

authorized to muster the Pennsylvania militia. 635 


Sprout,- 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 

subinspector. 94 

Stables, 

for horses of members of Congress.-. 156 

number of horses in the public, to be reported... 147 

Stadler, John, 

elected engineer for Southern Department.i. 485 

Staff {see Volunteer staff; Subsistence money), 

appointment on the civil, confers no rank imthe Army...14, 635 

respecting ap]iointment, on the conferring rank equal to that held in the 

line. 30 

may be taken from the line or from citizens. 28 

servants allowed to the general and military. 20 

respecting transfers to the, from the line... 26, 39, 73 

powers and duties of the general, to be defined. 27 

promotions in the, how made. 31, 39 

of corps, divisions and brigades, hoM' constituted. 79,116, 

134, 231, 436, 526, 604, 625 

brigadier assigned to main army to act as chief of... 109 

warrant officers on fhe civil, liable fo arrest and trial. 161, 293, 380, 490, 558 

mentioned. 28,110, 613 

Staff departments {see Vacancies), 

inquiry to be made into expenses of the. 17 

enlisted men in the, entitled to benefit of jiension laM S_ 208, 342, 413, 504, 568 

respecting infantry subalterns appointed in the. 185, 323, 455, 494, 566, 650 

mentioned. 21,175 

Staff officers, 

appointed from the line to revert to it on promotion. 14 

not to draAv more than one ration a day. 14 

supernumerary, may be discharged... 14,17 

form of commission for. 14 

to receive one additional ration for every five years’ service .. 29, 412 

unnecessary, to be furloughed. 23 

to be citizens. 70,108,195, 407 

entitled to clothing if they engage for one year or more. 380 

mentioned. 13, 68, 70,106,108,195, 304, 403, 407, 459 

Stagg, John, 

appointed brigade-major pro tempore ... 59 

mentioned. 60, 85,103 

Stamps, 

special, for official business. 38 

Stanton, Thomas H., 

mentioned. 443 


Stark, John, 

mentioned. 56, 94, 95,100 

Staten Island, K. Y. H., 

improvement of channel between, and New Jersey. 513 

State prison, 

respecting erection of Symsbury mines into a. 649 

State, War, and Navy building, " 

respecting construction of the. 513 

sujierintendent of the, authorized. 519 

States, 

authorized to suspend staff officers not appointed by Congress. 13 















































INDEX. 


787 


States—C ontinued. 

requested to make up deficiency of subsistence money. ^14 

additional pay. . 99 

respecting compensation by the, in lieu of lialf pay.!!.*!!!!. 2 S 

to be notified of detail of volunteers on ambulance duty . 76 

requested to grant writs on application of judge-advocate. 105 

compel the furnishing of supplies.. I 45 

afford assistance in procuring tent cloth.147 

forage. I 59 

, , , . clothing, etc.25i,'275,*277,299 

enforce a temporary regulation of prices .. 153 974 550 

exempt certain persons from militia duty.’ IGs’ 283 

inquire into conduct of persons in public service... I 63 ’ 997 

furnish their (luota of supplies.I 65 ’ 394 

make provision for pasturing horses. ’ 175 

furnish forage. 180 

cause assessment of blankets to be made .*.*252 

procure homemade linen. !!!!.! 263 

take measures against engrossers and others. 273,"275,*276 289 

aid in enforcing embargo.’ ’ 286 

furnish list of prices current in 1774 . 305 

report names of their purchasing agents. 317 

appoint examining medical boards....!! 368 

inspectors of powder. 542 

persons to manufacture accouterments. 553 , 554 

collect arms from persons not in service. 545 , 546 

make no exchanges of prisoners. ’ 645 

quotas of, to be furnished in forage. 166 167 

provisions. 306, 307., 312, sis, 314,’315 

respecting persons in the, who have failed to take the oathof oftice. 154, 279, 377 

appointment of deputy quartermasters in the several. 167 

stamls of arms to be provided for sale to the. 574 

relief to destitute persons in the Bouthern and Southwestern. 660 

res}>ecting recruiting agents in the Southern. 677, 680 

mentioned. 19,126, 165,169,188, 247, 251, 2*62, 273. 288. 

293, 294, 296, 299, 301, 304, 370, 394, 395, 544, 545, 547, 551, 639, 640, 646 

Stkei., 


to be purchased. 545 

respecting manufacture of. 550 

regulates jirice of oil-tempered and annealed. 604 

conduct of experiments in testing. 513 

Steel guns, 

contract for, authorized. 602 

Steel-wire seacoast guns. 


material for, may be purchased. 604 

Sternberg, George M., 

mentioned. 362 

Steuben, Frederick W. A., 

appointed inspector-general. 89 

appointment announced to the Army. 90 

to be furnished two good horses for his use. 90 

continued inspector-general of the armies of the United States. 99 ,102 

granted additional pay. 102 

in accejiting resignation of. Congress tendered him their thanks and 

voted him a sword. 103 

mentioned. 93, 94,100,490 


Stevenson,-, 

to superintend the hospitals in Jersey. 380 

Stewart, Archibald, 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues. 265 

resigned. 266 

Stewart, Charles, 

elected commissary-general of issues. 263 

mentioned. 238,316 

Stewa rt, Wa lter, 

appointed inspector for the Northern Army. 103 

Stiles, Reuben, 

pay and rations allowed to, as magazine keeper.^.... 214 
























































788 


INDEX. 


Stirling, Lord, Page. 

mentioned. 55, 60, 90 

Stock, 

States requested to authorize seizure of live.. 276 

sujxirintendent of live, authorized. 317 

Stockings, 

importation of. 252 

States requested to procure supplies of. 275 

to be purchased. 142 

respecting, for the sick and wounded in hospitals. 376 

mentioned. 285 

Stockton, Richard, 

member of committee. 246, 247, 367 

Stone, Thomas, 

member of committet'. 247 

Storehouses, 

respecting impressment of. 270 

Storekeepers (see Military; Medical; Ordnance storekeepers), 

authorized. 167,186, 363, 364, 370, 387 

appointed. 142,143 

duties of. 317,318 

pay of certain. 244 

post quartermaster-sergeants to perform the duties of. 229 

mentioned. 571 

Stores (.see Public stores). 

Storev, John, 

respecting pay and rations of. 183 

to settle business of the late Quartermaster-Generars Department. 183 

appointed to take charge of all intrenching tools. 157 

Storms, 

respecting notice of approach of.. 614, 616 

Storrow, Samuel H., 

mentioned. 121 

Strape, Henry, 

commissioned lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers. 554 

Straw, 

to be provided for the troops.... 145,153,154 

two bundles of, per tent to be issued. 186 

Streets, 

cost of improving certain, in ’Washington City, by whom paid. 510 

Stringer, Samuel, 

appointed director of hospital and chief physician and surgeon. 364 

director and physician of hospital in Northern Department..... 367 


Stroup, Henry, 

resignation accepted. 552 

Sturgeon Bay, 

mentioned. 520 

Subsistence, 

certain accounts of, how signed. 22 325 

abstracts of, to whom sent... ’ 325 

respecting contracts for. 209, 339, 343, 344,'4i5,'4i6,’589, 590 

for prisoners of war. 842 543 

Subsistence Department (,s<(?c Vacancies; Contracts; Purch.wses), 


increased. 341 ^ 342, 344 , 345 

respecting sales by, to officers and men. 35 , 349 , 351, 354 , 684 

no new appointments or promotions to be made in the. 349 

appointments in the, how' made.. '''355 

appropriations for the, to constitute one fund. ]!!!!!!]!!! 357 

respecting details for dutv in the. 357 353 

mentioned..■ws.'sso, 351:354 

Subsistence money, 

allowance of, to officers. 14,15, 20, 21,164,325, 380, 381, 382, 453, 559, 566 

enlisted men. I 5 , 164 , 381,453 

mentioned. 

Subsistence stores, 

respecting claims for, furnished. 347 

to be provided for an army of 3,000 men for six montiis 242 

respecting capture of vessels laden with. !!!!!' *240 241 


















































INDEX. 


789 


Substitutes, 

drafted men may furnish. 

to receive same pay as drafted men. 

who may be accepted as. 

mentioned. 

Suffering, 

no one to be deemed, who is able to find work 
Sugar, 

respecting distribution of, to the people of New York 

ratio of, to every 100 rations. 

ration of, may be commuted.. 

Sullivan, John, 

mentioned. 

Sullivan, Thomas C., 

mentioned. 

Sulphur, 

colonies requested to collect. 

respecting importation of. 

manufacture of. 

removal of the, in New York City. 

exportation of, prohibited. 

Superintendent-General of military supplies Purv 

to prescribe forms of returns and accounts. 

Superintendent of artificers, 

authorized; how apjiointed; duties of. 

Superintendent of finance. 


Page. 
.... 669,671 

.. 670 

.... 671,680 
675, 678, 679 

. 657 

.. 300 

341,343, 351 
345,351 


99 


238 


. 535 

. 536,537,550,690 

. 540 

. 690 

. 573 

EYOR OF PUBLIC SUPPLIES), 

. 199,336,578 

. 198 


authorized to make removals. 181, 319, 393,492, 

to procure or contract for all supplies. 183,321, 322’ 394^ 

appoint inspectors of contracts. 185, 323, 398, 

report cause of delays in forwarding supplies. 185^ 

ascertain value of ration j. 

establish magazines at Fort Pitt. 

provide for safe-kee]fing, etc., of prisoners of war. 

mentioned. 566, 

Superintendent of military stores, 

duties of. 

Superintendent (see Military Academy; National cemeteries), 

of bakers appointed. 

pay of. 

magazines of provisions authorized. 

cattle mentioned. 

. live stock authorized. 

appointments of line officers as, of hospitals.. 380, 381, 382,383, 390, 394,395, 

of arms and military accouterments appointed... 

armories authorized. 

respecting a, of a brass cannon foundry.’. 

office of, at certain armories abolished. 

of manufacture of iron cannon authorized. 585, 

respecting civilian, of armories. 587,588, 

authorized for the State, War, and Navy Building. 

Superior, Wis., 

respecting harbor of. 

Supplies (see Public supplies) . 

Surgeon-General (see Bank; Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized. 371, 410, 423, 427, 429, 

appointed. 373,374,375, 

how appointed.. 417,424, 

duties of. 371, 374, 417,425, 426, 427,428, 429, 430, 432,435,436, 

letters, etc., to and from, free of postage. 

ex officio commissioner of the Soldiers’ Home. 432, 

Surgeons (see Hospital physicians; Hospital surgeons; Medical Depart¬ 
ment) , 

respecting issue of small supply of shirts and linen to. 304, 

authorized in each district to superintend hospitals.- 

a senior, appointed in the flying hospital. 382, 

appointed to regiment of invalids.- 

respecting promotion of regimental. 395, 

number of post, established. 

two, to be discharged. 


563 

564 
566 
324 
454 
324 
649 
569 

577 

253 

318 

280 

305 

317 

400 

554 

572 

553 

585 

586 
590 
519 

526 


437 
378 
430 

438 
412 
433 


382 
371 

383 
390 
397 
410 
412 






















































790 


INDEX. 


Surgeons—C ontinued. Page. 

discharge of tM'o, revoked. dl3 

each brigade to have one. -flG 

to be detailed to the military j^rison.... 427 

number of assistant, reduced. 428, 485 

(/See Contract surgeons; Vacancies.) 

respecting appointment of, and assistant surgeons. 411, 429 

assistant, to be examined prior to promotion as captain.. 434 

respecting, on boards of enrollment. 669, 670, 675, 676, 680 

detail of, for examination of drafted men. 673 

garrison, to be considered as post surgeons. 689 

mentioned. 381,398,399 

Surgeons’ mates (see Pay; Rations; Clothing; Forage; Land), 

may be appointed to regiment of invalids.— 390 

additional, authorized. 401,406 

to be attached to garrisons and posts.. - 406 

mentioned. 689 

Surgical instruments (see Trepanning instruments), 

importation of, authorized. 365 

returns of, to be made. 369 

to be furnished every prescribing surgeon or physician. 399 

Surveyor of ordnance, 

authorized; how appointed; duties of. 558 

additional pay to. 562 

Surveyor of roads (see Geographers). 

Surveyors, 

militarv, to share in small supply of shirts and linen.... 304 

Surveys, 

respecting, of Chesapeake Bay. 500 

for roads and canals. 500 

of the coast of the United States.... 503, 518 

preliminary. 505,517 

for railroad to the Pacific Ocean. 506 

ship canal near Isthmus of Darien. 506 

of Mississippi River...513, 526 

Western and Northwestern rivers... 518, 528 

rivers and harbors... 519,521, 522 

for a national road to Mount Vernon, Va... 523 

ship canal to connect certain lakes. 524 

canal routes from Lake Erie to Ohio River. 526 

deep waterways from the Great Lakes to the ocean. 526 

mentioned.. *... 516 

Sutherland, Charles, 

mentioned. .562 

SwAiM, David G., 

mentioned.. . 121 

Swain, Francis, 

appointed brigade major. 58 

mentioned. 59 

Swan, Caleb, 

mentioned. 443 

SwARTwouT, Robert, 

mentioned. 140 

Sweers, Cornelius, 

commissioned assistant commissary of military stores at Philadelphia_ 550 

mentioned. 555 

SwEiNEY, James, 

commissioned second lieutenant of artillery artificers. 549 

Swift, Joseph G., 

mentioned.. 483 

Swords, 

Pennsylvania to cause search for, in Philadelphia. 548 

Symsbury mines, 

respecting erection of the, into a State prison. 649 

System, 

respecting, for rifles. 603 

of easy maneuvers and exercises. 89 

regulations for the infantry. 93 


















































INDEX. 


791 


Tactics, 

system of, mentioned. 

Tailors, . 

employment of, authorized. 

Talcott, George, . 

mentioned... 

T allow, .*. 

to be rendered. 

exportation of, forbidden. !!!.!!!! . 

to whom delivered. 

of cattle delivered on foot, how credited. 

Tal.madge, Benjamin, 

to act as' brigade major. 

appointed brigade major. 

Tarling, Peter, 

appointed brigade major. 

Taulman, Peter, 

appointed captain lieutenant in tlie corps of sappers and miners 
Tax, 

States requested to lay a, partially payable in provisions. 

Taylor, Andrew, 

to do duty as brigade major. 

Taylor, John, 

appointed judge-advocate. 

Taylor, Joseph P., 

mentioned. 

Teams (see Horse teams; Ox teams), 

res]>ecting reduction of the stationary. 

States requested to exempt drivers of, from militia duty. 

how obtained.... 

Ti:legraphic dispatches, 

respecting private, on Government lines. 

Telegraph lines, 

respecting construction of. 

Tennessee, 

respecting recruiting agents in. 

Tents, 


Page. 

93 


250 


- 534 

249,261 
. 251 

261,291 
. 307 

56 

56 


58 

493 

312 


55 

123 


238 


. 158 

163 
260, 552 


617 


615, 616 
677, 680 


allowance of, to inspectors. 

the troops. 

resjiecting receipt and care of. 

to lie provided. 

respecting canvas for. 

to be furnished the Southern army 

returns of, to be made. 

mentioned.. 


99 

162,163 
. 142 


.. 145,154 

146,147,148,179,181,182, 253 

. 180 

. 326 

. 155,180,186,187 


Tern ANT, John, 

attached on the march, to General de La Fayette’s division. 

appointed to act as subinspector. 

lieutenant-colonel and to perform the duties of inspector 

inspector for the Southern army.. 

mentioned. 

Territories, 

cost of ordnance and stores issued to, how credited. 

only retired officers eligible to civil officers in the. 

Testing machine, 

respecting use of, for private citizens. 

Tests, 

respeiding, of heavy rifled ordnance. 

for private citizens.:. 

to be made of resistance of best stone forts to heaviest guns. 

Texas, 

Safe, deep harbor on coast of, to be inspected. 

Thanks of Congress, 

tendered to General Mifflin and Colonel Pickering. 

Thomas, John, 

mentioned. 

Thomas, Joseph, 

pay and rations allowed to. 


. 60,90 
89 
92 

. 103 

92,179 

. 602 
. 685 

. 600 

593,600 
. 600 
. 511 

. 525 

17 

. 53,54 
. 245 














































792 


INDEX. 


Thomas, Lorenzo, Pngc . 

mentioned. 

Thornburg, Joseph, 

ai:)pointed wagon-master-general. 152 

to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel. 152 

Ticonderoga, N. y., 

mentioned. 1J7 

Tilghman, Edward, 

appointed assistant brigade major. 55 

Tilton, James, 

elected hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

accepted commutation in lieu of half pay. 401 

mentioned. 362 

Tin, 

carti’idge canisters may lie furnished in lieu of cartouch boxes. 554 

Tobacco, 

issue of, to enlisted men. 35 

Tobacco warehouses, 

floors of, to be Avorked for saltpeter... 538 

Topographical Bureau, 

charged with making preliminary sinu’eys. 505 

officer of the, charged Avitli construction of custom-house at New Orleans, 

entitled to extra compensation. 505 

boards of officers of the. 505 

duties of, relative to certain light-houses. 505, 506 

to construct certain range beacon lights..... 505 

certain Avorks to be executed under superintenence of the. 504 

Topographical Engineers, 

authorized. 499, 502 

how selected. 499 

retained in service.. 500 

detail of, to make exjdorations and surveys. 506 

to be promoted captains after fourteen years’ serA’ice as subalterns. 506 

mentioned... 543, 505, 506 

Topographical engineer soldiers, 

company of, authorized. 509 

Tools (see Intrenching tools), 

estimate of carpenters’, required. 145 

Torpedoes, 

respecting moATible submarine.*.. 520, 599, 601 

Totten, Joseph G., 

mentioned. 483 

Toavers, Robert, 

elected inspector of gunpoAvder. 542 

Toavnsend, Edavard D., 

mentioned. 52 

Toavnshend, Davis, 

appointed hospital ]>hysiciau and surgeon. 389 

Towson, Nathan, 

mentioned. 443 

Trade, 

interest in, forbidden to officers of the Quartermaster’s Department_ 196, 198 

Subsistence Department_ 334, 335, 338 

Hospital or IMedical Department.. 388 

Traders, 

respecting goods in, in York and Gloucester, Va. 19 

Transfers {see Details), 

respecting, from the line to the staff- 26, 72, 73,109,185, 201, 323,494, 566, 650 

of ofiicers of engineers. 498 

artillery. 584,585 

ordnance. 581 

men of the Signal Corps. 622 

drafted men to the naval service. 671, 677 

Transportation {see Mileage; Traveling expenses), 

only actual cost of, alloAved. 43 

to officers traveling Avithout troops. 43 

{See Impressment, ) 


respecting, of public supplies. 179,182,183,321, 322, 387, 394, 552, 564 

contracts for. 209, 343, 344,415, 416, 507,508, 589, 590 











































INDEX. 


793 


Transportation—C ontinued. 

of troops and stores under control of Secretary of War 
to be furnished for having artificial limbs fitted 

requests for, how obtained.” .. 

to be furnished to drafted men.]]. 

Traveling allowances {see Mileage), 

to officers of the department of issues. 

respecting, to engineer officers.. 

Traveling expenses (.see Mileage), 

only actual, allowed. 

resi)ecting, of inspectors.. 

certain California and Nevada volunteers. . 
Traveling Forge, 

allowed to conductors of military stores. 

division ambulance corps... 

Treat, ^Ialaciii, 

elected physician-general of hospital in Northern Department 

chief hospital physician. 

mentioned.. ]]]]!]]*' 

Treasury Department (.see Board of Treasury), 

all military supplies to be provided by the. 

office of purveyor of public supplies created in the.!! 

Trenches, 

division inspeidors to mount as majors of the. 

Trenton, N. J., 

removal of public stores to, ordered. 

res])ecting improvement of Delaware River from.. 

mentioned. 

TREPA NNlNG INSTRUMENTS, 

sets of, to be sent to Southern Dei)artment. 

Trial, 


Page. 
.. 210 
.. 221 
44, 46, 47 
.. 678 

248, 296 
.. 490 

.38, 46, 47 
98 
472 


559 

422 

- 374 

- 389 

. 361 

328, 402 

329, 402 

- 100 


376, 548 
. 528 

144,541 

. 365 


warrant officers on the civil staff liable to. 161, 293, 380, 490,558, 644 

offices of departments of purchases and issues subject to. 257 

Hospital or Medical Department subject to. 388 

Transports, 

respecting food of troops on. 689 

Troop, Rorert, 

elected deputy adjutant-general in Northern Department. 60 

mentioned. 60 

Troops, 

allowance of tents to the. 162,163 

transportation of, under control of Secretary of War. 210 

Trumbull, John, 

appointed brigade major. 53 

elected deputy adjutant-general. 56 

resignation accepted. 57 

Trumbull, Jonathan, 

mentioned. 272, 543,544, 549 

Trumbull, Jonathan, Jr., 


pay increased. 447, 449 

resigned... 450 

Trumbull, Joseph, 

elected commissary-general of purchases. 262 

asked leave to resign. 265 

appointed commissary-general of stores and provisions. 239 

empowered to import flour and other i>rovisions. 250 

additional allowance to, for the benefit of his heirs. 295 

mentioned. 3, 238, 242, 253, 264, 265 

Trusses, 

how obtained. 426,430 

Tucker, Thomas Tudor, 

appointed jihysician and surgeon in the hospital for Southern Department. 395 
Tudor, William, 

elected judge-advocate of the Army. 123 

appointment of, announced to the Army.,. 123 

to have rank of lieutenant-colonel. 123 

mentioned. 54,121,123,124 

















































794 


INDEX. 


Tunnel {see AVasitington Aqueduct Tunnel), 

under the Detroit lliver. 524 

Tupper,-, 

appointed brigade inspector. 89 

Turnbull, Marmie & Co., 

mentioned. 327 

Turner, George, 

discliarged from office of commissary of prisoners. 648 

mentioned. 649 

Turner, Levi C., 

mentioned. 121 

Turner, Philip, 

elected surjreon-general of hospital in Eastern Department. 374 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

mentioned. 361 

Tyson, J. AV., 

mentioned. 238 


U. 

Uniform {see Badges), 

of the several State lines. 15,18,19, 21, 22 

artillery and dragoons. 16, 21,22 

general and staff officers. 18,19, 22 

cavalry and infantry. 21, 22 

wearing red coats forbidden... 19, 22 

respecting, of retired officers..82, 39, 40 

President to prescribe the. 41, 225, 338 

when may be worn by late officers. 48, 682 

vratch coeds to be provided for sentries. 142 

complete suits of, to be imported... 251, 252 

of State lines, by whom prescribed. 295 

respecting, of members of ambulance corps. 422 

‘ ‘ U NiTED Colonies, ’ ’ 

words, to be altered to “United States” in all commissions. 11 

requested to procure suits of clothes for the troops. 245 

“United States,” 

words “ United Colonies” to be altered to, in all commissions. 11 

all arms and accouterments to be marked. 546 

Utah, 

respecting California and Nevada volunteers discharged in.. 472 


V. 

V ACANCIES, 

President authorized to till certain. 25 

in position of chiefs of staff corps, how tilled. 47 , 

81, 82,118,136, 234, 358, 479, 606, 624, 627 

respecting, in Adjutant-Generars Department. 74, 75 , 76, 77 , 79 , 80, 81 

Inspector-General’s Department. 115,117,118 

Judge-Advocate-General’s Department. 135,136 

Quartermaster’s Department. 218, 227, 230, 233, 234 

Subsistence Department. 346, 350, 353 , 355 , 357, 358 

Hospital Department. 395,397 

Aledical Department. 414, 419, 424, 427, 437 , 439 

Pay Department.. 478, 479 

Corps of Engineers. 527, 529 

Topographical Engineers. ’502 

Department of Alilitary Stores. 551 

Ordnance Department. 005, 606 

Signal Corps. 623, 624, 626, 627 

Bureau of Befugees and Freedmen. 662 

Vaccination, 

of the troops to be discontinued.. 393 

Valises, 

respecting, furnished to officers. 160 

Vallenais, -, 

appointed aid-de-camp to Colonerde la Bahue. 87 

Van Lear, AA'illiam, 

appointed brigade inspector. 95 

















































INDEX. 


795 


Van Rensselaer, James, 

inusterniaster-general of tlie forces in Canada 

Van Rensselaer, Philip, . 

appointment of, as storekeeper, confirmed t .o 

\ ARicK, Richard, . 

appointed deputy mustermaster-general to tlie Northern army 6 S 0 

elected deputy mustermaster-general ‘. -..V 

Varnum, James, . 

mentioned. oq/^ 

Varnum, James M., . 

Veoctables, o9,(,0,89 

respecting, for the army. 05 Q 257 965 

garden near hospital for raising.' *. ‘ ’ ’ 303 

regimental gardens for raising .. 305 

one pound of, added to the ration.. 354 

Venereal diseases, 

amount to be paid by patients in hospital on account of. 376 

\ essels {see Ships), 

respecting impressment of. 142 

bringing cargoes on government acc.ount. 262 

employment of merchant. 290 291 

mentioned... 213, 240, 278,'279,*289, 536’ 537 

\ ESSELS OF M'AR, 


respecting jirisoners taken by. 646 

enlistment of prisoners for service on. 642 

mentioned.'."240,540 

\ ETERAN Reserve C’orps, 

officers of the, in Bureau of Refugees may be retained. 657, 661 

Veterinarians, 

authorized; pay of. 233 

Vickers, Samuel, 

appointed physician and surgeon in the h<)si)ital for Southern department. 395 
Vinegar, 

to be provided. 254,257, 265,326 

Virginia, 


uniform of the, line.. 15 

quota of, to be furnished in forage. 166 

how i)aid for. 166 

provisions. 303,313 

how paid for. 307, 313 

when deliverable. 315 

requested to authorize seizure of provisions in hands of engrossers. 289 

not to grant exemptions from embargo. 289 

to furnish Indian corn. 303 

collect sulphur and brimstone. 535 

purchase copper, etc. 544 

lend stands of arms. 558 

respecting military hospital in. 375, 391 

tobacco warehouses in. 538 

repair of arms in the magazines of. 563 

mentioned... 1 . 123,156,160, 248, 251, 271,272, 279, 285, 286, 290, 

297,299, 365, 446,447, 449, 540, 546,560, 566, 571, 640, 643, 645, 649, 690 
Volunteer officers Uniform), 

respecting appointment of, in the staff corps. 46 

may be appointed on corps, division, and brigade staffs. 45 

brevetted for services prior to appointment in Regular Army- 36 

names of all, on ambulance duty to be reported. 76 

respecting, to be appointed in the Quartermaster’s Department. 231 

Subsistence Department. 348 

in Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen may be retained. 661 

may be appointed in the Adjutant-General’s Department. 82 

Inspector-General’s Department. 118 

Judge-Advocate-General’s Department. 136 

Quartermaster’s Department.218,234 

Subsistence Department. 356, 358 

Medical Department. 424,438 

Pay Department. 478,479 



















































796 


INDEX. 


Volunteers, 


quartermaster’s supplies retained from. 686 

respecting hospital stewards of. 438 

Volunteer Signal Corps, 

how constituted..*.. 625 

officers of the, eligible to ai)pointment in Signal Corps. 626 

Volunteer Staff, 

retention of officers of the, in the Adjutant-General’s Department. 80 

Inspector-General’s Dejiartment.. 117 

Judge-Advocate-General’s Department. 135 

Quartermaster’s Department.... 232, 233, 234 

Subsistence Department. 356 

Medical Department. 437 

Pay Department. 478 

Volunteer surgeons, 

appointment of, authorized. 419, 438 

Vowles, Henry, 

appointed brigade major. 60 


vr. 


Wadsworth and Carter (Messrs.), 

mentioned. 324 

Wadsworth, Decius, 

mentioned. 534 

AVadswortii, Finn, 

appointed brigade major. 56 

Wadsworth, Jeremiah, 

elected deputy commissary of purchases. 262 

commissary-general of ])urchases. 283 

given leave to resign January 1, 1780 . 303 

desired by Congress to continue in office until his successor qualities. 303 

resigned .. 283 

resignation accepted. 303 

mentioned... 55,56, 238, 266,282, 283 

Wagoners, 

how obtained. 20 

corps of, authorized. 161,162,164 

respecting jiay of..... 161,162 

clothing for.. 164,165,182, 302 

to receive a suit of clothes as bounty. 162 

authorized; to receive ])ay, etc., of corporals of cavalry.. 210 

mentioned. 451, 635 

Wagon master general, 

authorized. 151 

appointed. 141,152 

duties of. 146,150 

Wagon masters (see Pay; Kations; Baggage w.vgons; Bathorses), 

authorized. 141,171,182,186,197, 206 

appointed. 154,179 

duties of. 171 

deranged in 1815 to receive three months’ pay. 203 

mentioned. 145,156, 201 

deputy, authorized. 171,186 

appointed. 182 

duties of. 171 

assistant, authorized. 171,186 

Wagons (.see Baggage wagons; Ambulances), 

respecting imjiressment of. 142, 270 

to l)e purchased. 147,180 

returns of, to be made. 326 

for removal of sick and wounded, by whom supplied. 372, 387 

respecting, of Hospital Department. 376 

mentioned. 145,152,155,163,179,180,182, 260, 421 

M'A iters (^ee Servants), 

not to be taken from the line. 26 

staff officers entitled to one. 27, 408 























































INDEX. 


797 


Waistcoats, 

to be purchased. 

Ward masters (see Pay; Kations),. 

authorized..._ 

duties of... 

mentioned... 

Walbach, J. de P>., 

mentioned. 

Walker, Joseph, 

appointed T)rigade major pro tern. 

continued in office. 

Wallace, Gustayus B., 

appointed brigade inspector. 

Waltox, George, 

directed to send 3 tons of steel and 5 tons of nail 
army in the Northern Department_ 

War, 


Page, 

. 142 

. 385,407,409 

. 385 

. 410 

.52,86 

. 60 

. 66 

. 89 

rods for the use of the 
. 545 


in time of, retired officers may be employed. 45 

Signal Corps to be increased. ' 595 

officers who served in any, may wear badge adopted 43 ,48 

^ uniform of highest rank.*48, 6S2 

\\ ARD, Joseph, 

elected commissary-general of musters. 634 

prisoners. 547 

mentioned.! ■.!!!!!! '629,637 

\V ARD, Samuel, 

member of committee. 537 

Warehouses (see Tobacco warehouses). 

Warner, Robert, 

to do duty of inspector. 100 

Warrant officers, 

on the civil staff liable to arrest and trial. 161, 293,380, 490, 558, 644 

deranged in 1815 to receive three months’ pay. 28,203 

Warran, James, ‘ 


elected paymaster-general. 445 

resignation accepted. 446 

mentioned. 443 445 

Warren, John, ’ 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon. 389 

accepted appointment. 390 

Washington, George (see Commander in Chief) , 

member of committee.. 535 


authorized to displace all officers under rank of brigadier-general. 12 

power, within 70 miles from headquarters, to continue until March 1,1778. 12 

asked to transmit a list of his appointments. 12 

powers of, as commander in chief never intended to be superseded or cir¬ 
cumscribed by Congress. 12 

committee to confer with, on perfecting arrangement cf staff departments. 17 

authorized to appoint three brigade majors. 53 

relative to appointment by, of an adjutant-general. 57 

plan of, for a well-regulated inspectorship approved. 89 

authorized to apiioint inspectors and brigade inspectors. 90 

appointment of a quartermaster-general left to. 141 

to fix on locations for magazines of provisions... 157 

appoint a deputy commissary of stores for the army near New York... 248 

commissary of clothing for his army. 248 

clothier-general and fix his pay. 251 

authorized to increase the ration of soap. 265 

to regulate special issue of rum for gallantry of the troops in battle of 

Brandywine. 268 

authorized to take provisions, etc., for the subsistence of his army. 268 

to establish magazines for storage of flour.• 288 

appointment ol a commissary of artillery left to. 536 

mentioned. 3,4,17, 53, 54, 85, 89, 90,146,147, 

155,160, 242, 251, 252, 268, 271, 285,449,452, 453,485,486,487, 


488, 489, 491, 535, 536, 537, 540,543,544,545,548, 550, 553, 562 


“Washington” (ship), 
mentioned. 


495 













































7V)8 INDEX. 

Washington, D. C., _ 

respecting jiayment of cost of improving certain streets in. 510 

examination of harbors and landings along water front of. 511 

improvement of public property in. 511 

memorial bridge from, to Arlington.,. 526 

park improvements in. 528 

respecting tapping of water mains in. 516 

mentioned. 585 

Washington Aqueduct, 

mentioned. 507, 511, 515, 516, 523 

W AsiiiNGTON Monument, 

mentioned.-. 513 

Washington Public Library, 

building for the, to be erected upon Mount Vernon square in Washington 

City...: - - - 528 

Water department, 

operations of the, in District of Columbia to be under engineer commis¬ 
sioner .-. 519 

Watervliet Arsenal, N. Y., 

mentioned.. 585, 602 

Waterworks {see Potomac Waterworks). 

Watkins, Joseph, 

commissioned major, commissary of ordnance stores.. 549 

mentioned.^... 534 

Waugoshance, Mich,, 

works near, mentioned. 504 

Wayne, Anthony, 

mentioned. 58, 59, 62, 94 

Weather Bureau, 

certain duties of the Signal Corps devolved on the. 622 

mentioned. 624, 625 

AVestern Department, mentioned. 273,291,453 

AVeedon, George, 

to discharge duties of adjutant-general temporarily. 56 

mentioned.... 51,56, 58, 59, 89 

AA'eeks, George H., 

mentioned. 140 

AA'eibert, Antoine Felix, 

appointed assistant engineer.A. 486 

mentioned.•. 486 

AVelsh, John, 

to lie commissioned lieutenant of sappers and miners. 491 

appointed quartermaster to the same. 492 

Wentworth, John, 

member of committee. 14, 286 

mentioned. 157 

AAbiST Indies, 

respecting importation of salt from the. 261 

dried hides from the. 263, 547 

exportation of produce to the. 537 

mentioned. 540, 541 

AA’'eston, John F., 

mentioned. 238 

AA^est Point, N. Y., 

Military Academy and Corps of Engineers established at. 497 

mentioned... 324, 567, 570, 571 

AADiales Back, N. H., 

works at, mentif?)ned. 504 

AAbiARTON, Carpenter, 

appointed commissary to the militia about to march to New Jersev. 245 

mentioned. 87, 253 

AAMarton, Thomas, 

mentioned. 279 

AAMeat, 

bad, to be delivered to commissary of forage. 158 

not to be purchased for forage.. 158,159, 290 

mentioned.’ 288| 303 

AAYieaton, Henry, 

mentioned. 121 














































INDEX. 


79U 


HEELER, -, Pilge, 

coiitraotoi’ for cannon. 54(j 

mentioned. !!!]]! 546 

AVhipping, 

Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen to prohibit. 659 

Whipple, William, 

member of eommittee.*. 291 

mentioned....*]]”. '159* 164, 299 

AVihsky, 

malt liquor or low wines may be substituted for. 888 

sugar and coffee to be issued"in lieu of. 841 

Whitcomb, Asa, 

mentioned. 142 

AVhite, IIasfield, 

appointed dei)uty wagon master. 182 

White, Moses, 

to do duty as brigade inspector. 95 

AVhite, Robert, 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues. 266 

resigned. 268 

WiCKOFF, Peter, r. 

elected clothier-general..,?<,. 297 

mentioned.. -''■4.- . 

AVidows, 

respecting extension of half pay to, of lifers :.^. 24, 25, 26 

mentioned.. It.. .*4.. -y;. 457 

AAAley, Robert, ‘ . 

mentioned. 563 

AAAlkins, Jr., John, 

mentioned. 140 

AVilkinson, James, 

grant of brevet of brigadier-general to, announced. 59 

ele(*ted clothier-general. 298 


resigned. 

mentioned. . . 

AVilliams, —-, 

ap])ointed to acd as adjutant-general pro tern. 

mentioned. -t . I . 

AA’illiams,-, * 

to superintend the hospital in Albany. 

mentioned... 

AVillia5is, Abraham, 

continued in the office of brigade-major. 

AVilliams, Jonathan, 

mentioned.. 

AVilliams, 0,tho II., ' - ' 

appointed subinspector... 

AAAlliams, Robert, IX 

mentioned. i . 

AAhLLiA.Ms, AVilliam S., 

member of (tommittee.. 

AVilliams and Elliot (AIessrs. ), 

mentioned. ' .-. 

AAAlliamsburg, A"a., 

mentioned.-. 

AAAlling, Thomas, 

mentioned. 

AATllson, James, 

member of committee. 

AATlson, Goodwin, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgeon 
AATlson, John M., 

mentioned. 

AATndel, Penet & Co., 

mentioned. 

AATnder, Rider H., 

mentioned. 

AATnder, AATlliam H., 

mentioned. 


. 52,86,238 

. 62 

. 62 

. 881 

. 382 

. 66 

. 483 

. 94 

. 52 

. 247 

. 328 

. 395 

142, 240, 587 

87,488, 589 

. 395 

. 483 

. 555 

. 121 

.52,86 
















































800 


INDEX. 


Wines, 

low, may be substituted for whisky. 333 

WiNYARD Bay, S. C., 

respecting improvement of. * . 522 

WisNER, Henry, 

member of committee.,. 538 

Witherspoon, John, 

member of committee. 247, 249 

mentioned. 145,146,160, 250, 392 

AVitnesses, 

respecting, before courts-martial. 125, 130, 132 

AVood, 

respecting, for use of hospitals. 190 

mentioned. 183 

AA\)odbridge, Theodore, 

mentioned. 63,99 

AA^oodford, AA'illiam, 

mentioned ... ^.1... 57, 60, 61, 89, 94 

AA^oodruff, Lewis, 

appointed deputy muster-master. 634 

AA'Ool, John E., 

mentioned.’.. 86 

AVoolen goods, 

to be purchased for sale to soldiers. 240 

AA'orkmen, 

authorized in the Ordnance Department. 572, 577, 579 

in armories exempted from jury <luty. 576 

master, authorized in the Corps of Engineers. 503 

to be designated as sergeants. 590 

mentioned. 575,576 

AA'orthington, Asa, 

inspector of cattle, granted increased pay. 306 

AA^ounded, 

respecting removal of the. 179 

blankets, etc., for the, in hospitals. 273 

relief of the, before removal to hospital. 380 

ambulances for the removal of the. 421 

mentioned. 368,422 

AA'right, Horatio G., 

mentioned. 483 

AVrits, 

respecting, to compel attendance of witnesses. 125, 130,132 

AVrixon, -, 

declined commission of chief engineer. 486 

AA'ykoff, Henry, 

appointed to inspect the cattle for the army... 326 

AAA-lie, Thomas, 

commissioned captain-lieutenant of artillery artificers. 549 

promoted to rank of captain. 553 

AA'yllys, John Palgrave, 

appointed brigade major. 55 

AA’ynkoop, Henry, 

member of committee.. 164, 300 

AA’ythe, George, 

member of committee... 246, 247 

A . 

YAtiUiNA Bay, Greg. 

bar of, to be examined. 526 

respecting improvement of. 528 

Yard (see Artillery yard; Horse yard). 

Yellowstone National Park, 

respecting road extensions and improvements in the. 528 

Young, Joseph, 

promoted to rank of hosjiital physician and surgeon. 395 

Yule, James, 

appointed wagon master. 154 

O 
















































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